State health and welfare minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey (left) administers Vitamin A supplementto a child in Patna on Wednesday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Patna, May 4: Bihar Health Society (BHS), with Unicef, launched Vitamin A supplement administration programme among children in the capital today.

On the occasion, state health and family welfare minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey launched the statewide programme by administering Vitamin A supplement drops to several children at Gardiner Hospital.

The extensive programme, which is organised every six months, will continue till May 7. The initiative aims at combating Vitamin A deficiency among children in the state.

Sources said the state government, according to a programme policy led by the Union health ministry, has taken the initiative.

In 2006, the ministry had directed all the states to administer Vitamin A supplement to all children belonging to the age group of nine months to five years.

During the four-day event, around Rs 1.47 crore children are expected to be administered Vitamin A supplement.

A senior health department official said it was decided to undertake the programme for the children belonging to the age group of nine months to five years in all the 38 district of the state following the biannual fixed day strategy linked with routine immunisation.

The official said children of nine months to five years of age would be covered with six monthly doses of Vitamin A supplement.

Choubey said: “The programme is supported by Integrated Child Development Services directorate and technical assistance was provided by Unicef.”

He said: “All anganwadi workers and the workers of additional Vitamin A distribution centres have undergone daylong training to implement the programme successfully. We are using all forms of media such as radio, television and newspapers to encourage people to join us to make this programme a success.”

Officials said while the initiative ensures extensive coverage of children, the dose of the micronutrient was also administered to children through routine immunisation programme.

Vitamin A is administered to children aged nine months to one year when they are immunised for measles, said a health department official.

He said people could take their children to primary health centres, additional primary health centres, sub-centres and anganwadi centres to get the dose of the vitamin supplement. Experts say that deficiency of the vitamin can cause diseases like nightblindness, malnutrition, diarrhoea and pneumonia in children.

Unlike most other micronutrients, Vitamin A is stored in liver for prolonged periods and periodic administration of a mega dose every six months is believed to ensure adequate bio availa- bility of Vitamin A to meet the daily requirements of micronutrients.

A city-based doctor said Vitamin A was in abundance in mother’s milk, yellow fruits, green vegetables, liver of goat. He said chicken and egg are essential not only for kids but for everyone.