KATHMANDU, Nov 3: The government has launched a two-day nationwide campaign from Tuesday to provide free vitamin A capsules and deworming medicine to children.
Under the campaign, vitamin A capsules are being administered to children aged six to 59 months, while deworming medicine is being distributed to children aged one to five years.
National Vitamin 'A' campaign begins from today
Leela Bikram Thapa, chief of the Nutrition Section at the Department of Health Services, said around 2.1 million children are expected to receive vitamin A capsules and two million children deworming medicine during the campaign.
A total of 52,000 female community health volunteers and 10,000 health workers have been mobilized for the campaign, he said.
Thapa urged parents and guardians to take their children to the nearest distribution centres to receive the supplements and medicine.
The government conducts the campaign twice a year—in Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May) and Kartik (mid-October to mid-November)—to reduce the risk of malnutrition and other health complications among children.
The vitamin A supplementation campaign has been running regularly in Nepal since 2050 BS, while the deworming campaign was introduced in 2056 BS.
