KHUAJND, June 11, Asia-Plus — The first ten-day stage of a vitamin A capsule distribution campaign, launched in Tajikistan on June 1, ended on June 10.
In the northern Sughd province, capsules have been distributed to all medical facilities across the province to provide vitamin A to 219,1400 children under age of 5, Mumin Bobojonov, the head of the Sughd branch of the Republican Immunoprophylaxis Center, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, bulks of vitamin A capsules have been provided to Tajikistan by UNICEF CO Tajikistan since 2004. The second stage of the vitamin A capsule distribution campaign will be held in the country from December 1-10.
In all, the campaign targeted more than 758,000 children under the age of 5 throughout the country thereby preventing blindness and saving lives as their immune systems are strengthened to fight common childhood killers, including diarrhea and measles.
Vitamin A deficiency is estimated to affect millions of children around the world. Approximately 250,000-500,000 children in developing countries become blind each year owing to vitamin A deficiency, with the highest prevalence in Southeast Asia and Africa. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vitamin A deficiency is under control in the United States, but in developing countries vitamin A deficiency is a significant concern. With the high prevalence of vitamin A deficiency, the WHO has implemented several initiatives for supplementation of vitamin A in developing countries. Some of these strategies include intake of vitamin A through a combination of breast feeding, dietary intake, food fortification, and supplementation. Through the efforts of WHO and its partners, an estimated 1.25 million deaths since 1998 in 40 countries due to vitamin A deficiency have been averted.
