Over 98% of children in Vietnam receive free vitamin A twice a year.

Among the essential micronutrients, vitamin A plays an important role in promoting the health and overall development of children. If vitamin A is deficient, it can lead to many consequences.

Vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children. According to the World Health Organization, vitamin A deficiency can cause night blindness and xerophthalmia in about 250,000 to 500,000 children each year, and increases the risk of death from infections such as measles or diarrhea.

The above information was emphasized by the Institute of Nutrition ( Ministry of Health ) at the Conference to provide information to the press, responding to the first phase of the 2025 national vitamin A supplementation campaign, taking place on May 29 in Hanoi, on the occasion of Micronutrient Day (June 1-2).

Among the essential micronutrients, vitamin A plays an important role in promoting the health and overall development of children. If vitamin A is deficient, it can lead to many serious consequences.

According to Dr. Nguyen Hong Truong - Deputy Director of the Institute of Nutrition, Vitamin A supplementation is essential for the health and comprehensive development of children, especially for children from 6 months to under 60 months old who are at high risk of vitamin A deficiency. The free vitamin A supplementation program for children has been implemented periodically twice a year since 1996 nationwide with the rate of children receiving regular vitamin A maintained at over 98%.

According to the Deputy Director of the Institute of Nutrition, in the context of increasing infectious diseases, the subjects receiving free vitamin A supplementation under the program have been expanded to include subjects at high risk of vitamin A deficiency such as people with measles (including children and adults), severe acute malnutrition, acute respiratory infections, and prolonged diarrhea according to the Ministry of Health's protocol.

In addition, micronutrient deficiencies do not exist in isolation. Therefore, in addition to vitamin A deficiency, parents also need to pay attention to iron deficiency and zinc deficiency, which are important public health issues in Vietnam. To prevent micronutrient deficiencies, it is necessary to simultaneously implement many solutions including diversifying the diet, fortifying micronutrients in food, and supplementing micronutrients.

Globally , up to 56% (equivalent to 372 million) of preschool-age children and 69% (equivalent to 1.2 billion) of non-pregnant women of reproductive age are deficient in at least one of the three important micronutrients iron/zinc/vitamin A. In Vietnam, there is still a triple burden of nutrition including malnutrition, overweight and obesity and micronutrient deficiencies.

According to the 2024 monitoring data of the Institute of Nutrition, although the rate of stunting in children under 5 years old is 18.1% (classified as average with public health significance according to the classification of the World Health Organization), the rate of stunting is still different between regions, in which it is still very high in the Northern Midlands and Mountains with a rate of 23.8% and the Central Highlands at 27.3%. The rate of underweight malnutrition in children under 5 years old is 10.4% (2024 data).

Vietnam has carried out many interventions to prevent malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies for pregnant and lactating mothers and children aged 0-16. The nationwide vitamin A supplementation campaign is an effective solution that has proven to be effective over a long period of time.

Vitamin A plays an important role in improving children's health and overall development. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

In addition, the Micronutrient Supplementation programs in the National Target Programs that have been implemented are considered one of the effective solutions to prevent micronutrient deficiency, especially in difficult areas.

In the 3 years from 2023, 2024, 2025, 245,653 children under 5 years old, 489,199 children aged 5-16 years old and 169,631 pregnant women were provided with free multi-micronutrients under the National Target Program for Sustainable Poverty Reduction. Pregnant women in 28 poor districts have been provided with free multi-micronutrient tablets from the time of pregnancy detection until 1 month after giving birth from 2019 to present.

The source of Vitamin A used for the supplementary campaign comes from the aid of Vitamin Angels (USA) as a non-refundable aid through Save the Children in Vietnam since 2012.

In the first phase of the vitamin A supplementation campaign in 2025, according to the plan, the Institute of Nutrition will distribute to provinces/cities nationwide 757,000 vitamin A capsules of 100,000 IU and 5,709,000 vitamin A capsules of 200,000 IU.

Vitamin A 100,000 IU is used as a supplement for children from 6 months to under 12 months old under local management, children at risk of vitamin A deficiency due to infectious diseases and acute malnutrition, and children who are transient in the management area. Vitamin A 200,000 IU tablets are used as a supplement for children from 12 to 60 months old./.

Communication message on Micronutrient Day (June 1 - 2, 2025):

Micronutrients are essential for growth, physical development, stature and intelligence, improving health and strengthening the body's resistance.

Give children of childbearing age high doses of vitamin A twice a year, according to the instructions of the commune or ward health station.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/tren-98-tre-em-o-viet-nam-duoc-uong-vitamin-a-mien-phi-2-lan-moi-nam-post1041435.vnp