Around 2.1 million children between six and 59 months across the country are being administered vitamin A supplements in the two-day nationwide campaign that started on Friday.

Of them, 1.9 million children between 12 months to 59 months are also being administered with deworming tablets, according to the Nutrition Section of the Family Welfare Division of the Department of Health Services.

“The vitamin A and deworming campaign has been running smoothly all over the country today (Friday),” said Lila Bikram Thapa, chief of the section. “We will request all parents of eligible children to ensure that their children are administered with vitamin A supplements and deworming tablets.”

Around 52,000 female community health volunteers have been deployed nationwide for the campaign. The health ministry has been conducting it twice a year—in April and October—since 2003.

Officials say that vitamin A supplementation and a deworming tablet administration campaigns are crucial in preventing many childhood diseases and reducing mortality among children under five.

It is because of supplementation campaigns like these that night blindness among children, which used to be very high until two decades ago, has been almost eliminated, according to Thapa.

Vitamin A deficiency is estimated to contribute to nearly one-fourth of global child mortality from measles, diarrhoea and malaria.

The campaign is a success story in Nepal, as it has helped tackle the issue of vitamin A deficiency among children, which used to be a major public health problem in the country. Regular supplementation campaigns are estimated to have reduced deaths among children under five by 23 percent.

Deworming tablets are crucial to preventing many childhood diseases and reducing the mortality rate among children under five, according to child health experts.

The vitamin A supplementations and the deworming campaign had coverage rates of over 94 percent, the highest among all health campaigns run in the country in the past. However, the coverage declined to just over 80 percent in recent years.

Child health experts say that vitamin A supplementation campaigns are important for children's overall growth and for protecting them from various infectious diseases.

According to the World Health Organization, vitamin A deficiency causes visual impairment (night blindness) and vulnerability to illnesses like measles and diarrhoea among children. The supplement boosts immunity and ensures children’s natural growth.