Download Vitamin A

Vitamin A
Many people in the developing world do not get enough vitamin A or beta carotene from the
food they eat, contributing to the serious public health problem of vitamin A deficiency.
Vitamin A is an essential nutrient needed for the visual system, growth,
development, and a healthy immune system. Everybody needs vitamin A to
grow and thrive, particularly mothers and young children.
Vitamin A is found in animal products and breastmilk. Carotenoids,
substances like beta carotene that the body converts into vitamin A, are
found in orange-colored fruits and vegetables and in dark-green leafy
vegetables.
Vitamin A deficiency results from a lack of vitamin A in the diet. Vitamin
A deficiency can also be caused by infections that reduce appetite or the
body’s ability to absorb vitamin A.
Vitamin A deficiency can damage the immune system and decrease the body’s ability to resist or
fight infections, therefore increasing the risk of mortality from common diseases, especially among
young children. Vitamin A deficiency may also result in impaired vision, including night blindness
(an inability to see at night) and may result in permanent, partial, or total blindness if left untreated.
Providing adequate amounts of vitamin A can reduce overall child mortality by 23-34%.
People at Risk
Vitamin A deficiency is most prevalent among young children and pregnant and lactating women as
they have increased nutrient requirements. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that
globally, 190 million preschool children and 19 million pregnant women are vitamin A-deficient.
Children with vitamin A deficiency are more likely to suffer from poor health and premature death.
Each year, it is estimated that 670,000 children under the age of five die from vitamin A
deficiency. Vitamin A deficiency is also the
number one cause of preventable blindness
among children in developing countries – as many
as 350,000 go blind every year.
The poor in the developing world, who live
primarily on a diet of starchy staples (such as rice)
that lack vital micronutrients like vitamin A are
particularly vulnerable to vitamin A deficiency.
Vitamin A Deficiency in Asia
Asia has one of the highest prevalence of vitamin
A deficiency in the world, with the most clinical
cases found there. Vitamin A deficiency is still
considered a public health problem in many
countries of Asia. One-third of all pre-school
children in Asia have vitamin A deficiency.
In the Philippines, vitamin A deficiency affects approximately 1.7 million children (15.2%) aged 6
months to 5 years. Subclinical vitamin A deficiency affects one out of every ten pregnant women.
In Bangladesh, one in every five children aged 6 months to 5 is estimated to be vitamin Adeficient. Among pregnant women in Bangladesh, 23.7% are affected by vitamin A deficiency.
Reducing Vitamin A Deficiency
Helen Keller International (HKI) is a leading global health organization that has been instrumental
in reducing vitamin A deficiency. HKI’s programs include:
Vitamin A Capsule Supplementation. Last year, HKI
enabled the distribution of nearly 85 million capsules to
children ages 6-59 months and post partum women in the
developing world. It takes two capsules a year to prevent
vitamin A deficiency in children at a cost of $1 per child.
Dietary Diversity/Homestead Food Production.
HKI’s Homestead Food Production programs enable
households to produce their own micronutrient-rich foods
and earn additional income. HKI helps communities
establish homestead gardens that produce fruits and
vegetables and develop animal husbandry programs to
provide food rich in vitamin A and other micronutrients
year-round.
Large-scale Fortification. HKI leads initiatives to fortify
commonly-used foods, such as cooking oil with vitamin A,
and engages in social marketing to encourage their
consumption. Enriching food products with vitamin A is a
cost-effective and long-term means to address vitamin A
deficiency with limited behavior change on the part of
consumers.
Bio-Fortification. HKI promotes the production and
consumption of orange-fleshed sweetpotatoes that have been bred to produce higher levels of
beta carotene compared to the traditionally grown white-fleshed variety.
Vitamin A deficiency continues to adversely affect many people, especially the last 10-20% in the
hardest-to-reach areas. In many developing countries, effective distribution systems for vitamin A
supplementation are not in place to reach all people in need adequately and consistently so the most
vulnerable children and women are often missed.
Because rice is widely produced and consumed, Golden Rice, a new type of rice that contains beta
carotene, has the potential to reach many people, including those who do not have reliable access to
or cannot afford other sources of vitamin A. Golden Rice is intended to be used in combination
with existing approaches to overcome vitamin A deficiency, including eating foods that are naturally
high in vitamin A or beta carotene, eating foods fortified with vitamin A, and optimal breastfeeding
practices.
www.hki.org/reducing-malnutrition/biofortification/golden-rice/