KHULNA, Dec 8, 2021(BSS) - Speakers at an orientation workshop here today underscored the need for making the National Vitamin A plus Campaign 2021 scheduled to be held from December 11 to 14 a total success.

  They were addressing at the workshop held at the city's School Health Clinic jointly organized by Khulna Civil Surgeon Office and Khulna City Corporation (KCC) to devise ways and means on how to make the programme a complete success maintaining social distance and health guidelines set up by the government.

  Chaired by Khulna Civil Surgeon Dr. Niaz Mohammad,President of Khulna Press Club S M Zahid Hossain, Deputy Civil Surgeon S M Kamal Hossain, Assistant Officer of Khulna PID Atiqul Islam, Child Specialist Dr Sharafat Hossain ,among others, addressed the workshop.

  Khulna Civil Surgeon (CS) Dr Niaz Mohammad said CS office and Khulna City Corporation(KCC) is being completed all preparations to be fed over 2.93-lakh children aged between six months to 59 months with Vitamin A plus capsules.

  The campaign will be conducted under the auspices of the Public Health and Nutrition Institute and National Nutrition Services under the Ministry of Health and Family Planning with UNICEF assistance.

  The CS Dr Niaz Mohammad said the main goal of the campaign is to maintain the prevalence of night blindness in children less than one percent through maintaining the high coverage of vitamin A supplementation among under five years children.

  Civil Surgeon Dr Niaz Mohammad informed that a total of 3,282 volunteers, 116 medical teams will work at 1,690 centers for the purpose.

   Child Specialist Dr Sharafat Ali in his key note paper stated the main goal of the campaign is to maintain the prevalence of night blindness in children less than one percent through maintaining the high coverage of vitamin A supplementation among under five years children.

  The workshop was told that a total of 1,61,268 babies aged under 12-59 months will be administered red colour vitamin A capsule in Khulna district while a total of 97,153 babies will be administered red colour vitamin A capsule in Khulna city corporation(KCC) area.

  Meanwhile, a total of 21,769 babies under 6-11 months will be administered blue colour capsule in Khulna district while a total of 12,603 babies will be administered in KCC area.

  Like previous years, Vitamin A plus capsules would not be administered at any open places including, bus, luanch and railway stations this year due to coronavirus outbreak, he said.