Published :

22 Jun 2026, 12:59 AM

Updated :

08 Sep 2026, 09:17 AM

A nationwide Vitamin A supplementation campaign has been scheduled to begin on Jun 28, with more than 23.5 million children aged between 6 and 59 months expected to receive capsules.

Dr Md Yunus Ali, director of the Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN), said the campaign will be inaugurated by the health minister at Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute in Dhaka’s Shyamoli.

He said more than 23.5 million children will be covered under the initiative. 

Of them, over 2.83 million children aged 6 to 11 months will receive blue capsules, while around 20.5 million children aged 12 to 59 months will be given red capsules.

According to Yunus, the first shipment of four million blue capsules arrived on Jun 11, followed by 22 million red capsules on Jun 19.

Officials at the IPHN said Vitamin A campaigns are normally held twice a year. 

However, the scheme had been suspended since March last year due to a shortage of capsules. 

The campaign will mark its return after nearly 14 months.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Vitamin A deficiency can cause vision problems, night blindness and, in severe cases, permanent blindness. 

The supplementation initiative aims to prevent those conditions among children.

Bangladesh launched Vitamin A supplementation in 1973 as part of the “National Night Blindness Prevention Programme”. 

In 1995, the initiative was integrated with National Immunisation Days to strengthen coverage. 

It was renamed the National Vitamin A Plus Campaign in 2003 and brought under the National Nutrition Services programme of the Directorate General of Health Services in 2011.