The government will resume the nationwide Vitamin A plus campaign after a suspension of more than a year, a gap experts say may have worsened the measles outbreak.
Around 23.5 million children aged between six months and under five years are expected to be covered under the campaign, said officials.
The tentative date for the campaign is June 27, Mohammed Eunus Ali, director of the Institute of Public Health Nutrition, which will lead the programme, told The Daily Star yesterday.
ATM Saiful Islam, additional secretary (Public Health Wing) at the health ministry, said preparations were underway for the campaign, with June 27 as the target date.
Eunus said the Vitamin A capsules for children aged six to 11 months have already arrived, while those for children aged one year to under five years are expected to reach the country on June 19.
The government procured the capsules through Unicef after three attempts to procure them through open tender failed, he said, adding that the next campaign will be held in four to six months.
The campaign aims to improve children’s immunity and nutritional status, and lapses are likely to increase malnutrition and weaken immunity, making measles more severe, said health experts.
Although the campaign was scheduled twice a year, the last National Vitamin A plus campaign held in March last year, said officials.
They attributed the suspension to the expiry of the sectoral programme that funded the campaign, the lack of alternative funding during the interim government’s tenure, and complications in procuring the capsules through the tender process.
The country is experiencing the worst measles outbreak in recent memory, with 656 deaths, most of them children, and over 97,000 reported cases of measles or measles-like illness since March 15.
The campaign was funded under National Nutrition Services (NNS), a component of the 4th Health, Population, and Nutrition Sector Programme (HPNSP).
Although the tenure of the 4th HPNSP ended in June 2024, there were enough capsules in stock to carry out the March 2025 campaign. The interim government scrapped the proposed fifth programme in March 2025, creating a funding gap, said officials.
After the expiry of the sector programme, the Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN) was tasked with carrying out the Vitamin A plus campaign.
Talking to this correspondent yesterday, Eunus said the campaign could not be held initially due to a funding crisis.
Even after funds were arranged, complications arose in the tender process for procuring the capsules, leading to the cancellation of tenders on three occasions.
The new government later decided to buy the capsules through Unicef, Eunus said.
He added that 2,838,794 children aged six to 11 months will receive one type of Vitamin A plus capsule, while 23,514,972 children aged one year to under five years will get another type.
The capsules will be distributed through 120,000 centres across the country, he said, adding that around 500 mobile centres will be set up at bus and train stations and launch terminals to provide capsules to travelling children.
