3.7 mln Nepali kids getting vitamin A

Administering of vitamin A capsules and deworming tablets to an estimated 3.7 million children under five is taking place under the National Vitamin A program to be organized across the country on Thursday and Friday, The Rising Nepal daily reported.

Women health volunteers will be administering vitamin A capsules and deworming tables to the children at the designated centers in every wards of all the Municipalities and Village Development Committees Thursday morning.

Vitamin A capsules will be administered to children between six months to five years of age while deworming tablets would be administered to children between one year to five years.

The children who are left out on Thursday can be a part of the national campaign on Friday.

Some 49,000 local women health volunteers are being mobilized for the nationwide campaign.

The National Vitamin A program is being carried out since 1993 with the objective of bringing down infant mortality, checking night blindness and other vitamin A deficiency diseases.

Every year this program alone is said to save the lives of 12, 000 children from untimely deaths in the country, the daily said.

Source: Xinhua