The government has all of a sudden postponed the Vitamin-A campaign scheduled to be held on Saturday due to the low quality of the capsules. The capsules were allotted to 22 million children across the country on Saturday.

The government has formed an inquiry committee to probe the matter.

The schedule for feeding Vitamin-A to the children aged from six months to 59 months was announced last week. Capsules were sent to different areas of the country following the announcement.

However, the field workers and officials working under health directorate expressed their doubts about the quality of the capsules and informed the directorate right away.

The health ministry postponed the programme later on Wednesday.

An official involved in the programme told Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity that they indentified yeast on the capsules and informed their seniors.

Director general Abul Kalam Azad of the health directorate confirmed to Prothom Alo that the programme had been postponed.

Abul Kalam Azad said, many of the the capsules were found stuck together and that is why the officer did not want to take any risk to administer the capsules to the children.

The health ministry and the health directorate have also formed two separate inquiry committees, which include scientists, to look into the matter.

Director of Dhaka Shishu Hospital Abdul Aziz thanked the government for postponement of the programme. He said, “Children have weaker immune systems. It is better not to take any risks.”

“Anyone found guilty in the investigations will be given exemplary punishment,” he added.

Health workers and volunteers were to administer Vitamin-A capsules to children from 8:00am to 4:00pm Saturday in permanent vaccination centres as well as bus stands, launch ghats, ferry ghats, bridges, toll plazas, airports, railway stations and mobile centres.

Under the National Nutrition Programme, 2.5 million children aged 6-11 months old and 19.5 million children aged between 12-59 months are administered blue and red capsules respectively. A nutrition programme officer told Prothom Alo that they were doubtful about the red capsules.

About 30 per cent of the country's total area informed the centre about this problem, he added.

The officials of the nutrition programme and health directorate said that the process of procuring the capsules started in 2016.

A local pharmaceutical company initially got the permission to supply the capsules. An Indian company went to court against the order and won the case. The Indian company Aztec was given the order to supply the Vitamin-A capsules.

The health ministry was to hold a press conference on the Vitamin-A campaign on Thursday. The ministry cancelled the press conference. According to health ministry officials, the new date for the campaign will be announced very soon.

Vitamin-A capsules are provided to children mainly to prevent night blindness since 1994. Night blindness has reduced remarkably in the country over the years due to regular Vitamin-A campaigns.

The Health Department officials said that such an irregularity occurred in 2012. However, it was not about the capsules’ quality then. It was about the work order for the supply of capsules.