Dimapur, Sep. 25 (EMN): Orientation training on vitamin A and Albendazole was conducted at Dr. Wethselo T Mero Memorial Hall, District Hospital Phek, on September 21 and 22.
An update from the office of the chief medical officer (CMO), Phek stated that the training programme was organised by ‘Vitamin Angels,’ an international NGO working for over 25 years to address the global public-health problem of under nutrition.
The CMO of Phek, Dr. Khriezotuo Paphino, in his keynote address, appreciated the Vitamin Angels for organising such training for healthcare workers, which aims at providing healthy life to mothers and children in far-flung areas.
He urged the healthcare workers to be attentive, responsive and learn from the training.
The resource persons were state programme officer, Alice Kamei Achumi, and senior SPO for North East/West Bengal, Swapan Kumar.
The trainees were oriented on the benefits, dosage, dosing interval and dosing steps of vitamin A and Albendazole for children below five years.
The healthcare workers were also re-oriented on the importance of vitamin A supplementation for children aged six to 59 months, an essential nutrient for children to survive and thrive for healthy living. It mentioned that Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) affects an estimated of 190 million children between six to 59 months globally, leading to blindness and childhood illness such as diarrhea and measles. VAD is a major contributor to child mortality, it stated. The training further dwelled on the importance of deworming preschool children aged 12 to 59 months for improving health and nutritional status, it stated.