Originally published February 13 2006
Surveys reveal nearly all African children are in danger of vitamin A deficiency
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Helen Keller International (HKI) has published an analysis based on 11 national surveys, which brought the organization to the conclusion that nearly 100 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa are exposed to the risks of vitamin A deficiency (VAD).
In a recent analysis, Helen Keller International (HKI) determines that nearly half of all children in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of vitamin A deficiency (VAD).
In an article of the Food and Nutrition Bulletin, Victor Aguayo, UNICEF Regional Nutrition Advisor for West and Central Africa and former HKI Regional Nutrition Advisor, and Shawn Baker, HKI Regional Director for Africa, published their findings from 11 nationally representative VAD surveys conducted in sub-Saharan Africa.
The authors have identified VAD as a major challenge facing Africa in the coming years and issued a call to action to meet this urgent need.
Produced by HKI, the article was funded by the United States Agency for International Development, the Canadian International Development Agency, and the Micronutrient Initiative (MI).
These estimates were critical in advancing policies and programs for VAD control, but concerns arose that they may have underestimated the problem and underplayed VAD's critical role in child mortality.
Aguayo and Baker calculated predicted levels of VAD by combining the MI/Tulane University/UNICEF estimates and the present population of children under five years of age.
They then compared those levels to data from surveys conducted between 1997 and 2003, finding that, in fact, there had been a more than twofold underestimation of the actual VAD problem in sub-Saharan Africa.
Finally, Aguayo and Baker applied the corrected estimates to the measured effects of VAD on child mortality to show the impact that VAD has on child mortality levels.
The authors discovered that a startling 42.4% of children under the age of five - or 43.2 million children - in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of this life-threatening deficiency in the absence of sustained policies and programs.
Moreover, they concluded that efforts for VAD control, including large-scale vitamin A supplementation, could bring about a 25% reduction in child mortality.
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