More than 6 million children nationwide receive vitamin A supplements

Every year, the Ministry of Health organizes a campaign to supplement vitamin A for children from 6 months to 59 months old in two phases (June and December). In 2023, the campaign will start on June 1.

On the morning of June 1, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan visited and inspected the organization of the Vitamin A supplementation campaign for children in Hanoi at Phan Chu Trinh Primary School (No. 40 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Dien Bien Ward, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi).

Speaking at the meeting, Minister Dao Hong Lan highly appreciated the collective leadership of the Department of Health for directing the district and grassroots health systems to prepare very carefully and thoroughly in terms of human resources, facilities, medicine, and equipment to organize vitamin A for children to be given on time and on schedule.

In order for the first phase of the vitamin A supplementation campaign to be successful, Minister Dao Hong Lan requested the Hanoi Department of Health to continue to direct and supervise the implementation of the vitamin A supplementation campaign in accordance with professional guidelines, ensuring the availability of drugs, ensuring hygiene and safety for children. At the same time, she requested local authorities, departments, branches, organizations at all levels, and media agencies to actively participate in mobilizing parents to bring their children to take vitamin A and regularly deworm them, achieving the set targets.

The first phase of the 2023 vitamin A supplementation campaign for children will begin on International Children's Day, June 1, which is also Micronutrient Day. The campaign will be held nationwide, with 22 disadvantaged mountainous provinces providing each child aged 6 to 59 months with 1 dose of vitamin A, and children aged 24 to 59 months receiving periodic deworming; in the remaining 41 provinces and cities, children aged 6 to 35 months will receive 1 dose of vitamin A. The source of medicine used in the campaign is provided by Vitamin Angel - USA.

In the first phase of the campaign, it is expected that more than 6 million children nationwide will receive vitamin A supplements, of which more than 392,000 children are expected to be in Hanoi alone.

According to the Ministry of Health, vitamin A plays an important role in the health and comprehensive development of children. Every year, the Ministry of Health organizes a campaign to supplement high doses of vitamin A for more than 6 million children aged 6-54 months nationwide (2 rounds each year: Round 1 in June and round 2 in December). In these campaigns, children of this age are given high doses of vitamin A capsules. In the past, vitamin A supplementation campaigns have helped Vietnam eliminate blindness due to vitamin A deficiency in 2000. According to health experts, to prevent and combat micronutrient deficiencies, in addition to the short-term solution of taking micronutrient supplements (such as high-dose vitamin A capsules, multi-micronutrient tablets, etc.), the medium-term solution is to use micronutrient-fortified foods, the long-term and fundamental solution is to improve the quality of meals.

Therefore, units need to strengthen communication work, encourage people to use a variety of foods, combine many types of food for daily meals; prioritize choosing and using foods rich in micronutrients and practice exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health.

People's Army Electronic Newspaper would like to send some pictures of the campaign to give children vitamin A on the morning of June 1.