Three day 'Vitamin A campaign' begins in Bihar

Patna, Apr 19 (UNI) A three-day campaign started today in Bihar to administer Vitamin A to 70 lakh children in the state.

UNICEF and other health societies in the state have organised the campaign.

UNICEF state representative Bijya Rajbhandari told mediapersons, ''Children in the pre-school age should take Vitamin A to boost their health.'' The campaign would cover 38 districts through 397 primary health centres(PHCs) and 60,000 Anganwadi centres.

''UNICEF has supplied one lakh bottles of Vitamin A for the campaign, each of which has approximately 50 doses'' Mr Rajbhandari added.

UNICEF officials said Vitamin A is a significant public health problem in the state. The picture became clear after a preliminary survey on prevalence of 'bitot spots'.

Elaborating about 'bitot spots', he said,'' These are opaque patches on white portion of the eyes which develop into a ulceration of cornea and blindness.'' Vitamin A intake is pretty low in the traditional diet of the rural population, which is mainly cereal based,'' he maintained.

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