EuropaWorld 16/2/2001 UNICEF Vitamin A Supplements Save a Million Childen's Lives

Almost a million child deaths have been averted since 1998 through a global campaign to distribute vitamin A capsules, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced today.
Noting the tremendous success of the campaign so far, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy urged renewed commitment to ensure children in countries prone to vitamin A deficiency are given supplements twice a year.

"It is unacceptable for any child to die as a result of deficiency in vitamin A, when a high-dose capsule costing about 2 cents, given twice a year, can provide adequate protection to a child," said Ms. Bellamy. "Our understanding of the role of micronutrients in child development has greatly increased over the last decade. We no longer have any excuse for lack of action."

Vitamin A is essential to the functioning of the body's immune system. Lack of it in the diet increases the severity of childhood ailments such as measles and diarrhoea. Research has shown that child deaths increase by about 20 per cent in population groups suffering from vitamin A deficiency, which is common in about 70 countries worldwide, most of them in Asia and Africa.
"Just five years ago, only six of the 72 countries with vitamin A deficiency had adequate supplementation programmes," Ms. Bellamy said. "Today over 40 countries are reaching the majority of their children with at least one Vitamin A supplement a year."

The dramatic progress is the result of a partnership launched in 1997 between UNICEF, the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the governments of a number of countries including Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as national governments in countries where vitamin A deficiency is a problem.