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10B

Capsules of vitamin A provided worldwide

167M

Children under five received two doses of vitamin A in 2021

55

Countries use our vitamin A capsules

The need

Vitamin A deficiency puts children at greater risk of disease and early death and is the leading cause of preventable child blindness.

The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) contributes to:

  • Increased morbidity and mortality due to a weakened immune system
  • Slowed growth and development
  • Visual system disorders, including, xerophthalmia, irreversible blindness and night blindness

Supplementing children between the ages of six months and five years with two doses of vitamin A per year reduces:

  • Morbidity and mortality in children affected by VAD:
    • Mortality:
      • 12 to 24% reduction in overall risk of death
      • 12% reduction in death due to diarrhea
    • Morbidities:
      • 15% reduced incidence of diarrhoea
      • 50% reduced incidence of measles

Video

10 billion reasons vitamin A should be called vitamin “Eh!”

Did you know that vitamin A saves lives? For more than 25 years, Nutrition International, based in Canada, has provided more than 10 billion capsules of vitamin A for children under five. This low-cost intervention prevents blindness, strengthens immune systems and has helped hundreds of millions of children around the world grow up stronger and healthier. That’s a lot of Canadian know-how, doing a lot of good ― and it’s time we recognized it.

How we help

We are world leaders in vitamin A supplementation.

We work with vitamin A capsule manufacturers around the world

In partnership with UNICEF, we work with vitamin A capsule manufacturers to ensure that the capsules produced can survive transport to hot climates, have a shelf life of three years, deliver a consistent dose of vitamin A to every child, and can be easily and safely administered by frontline health workers.

We support health systems to deliver vitamin A

Working closely with UNICEF and other partners, we support ministries of health to deliver vitamin A supplementation programs to preschool age children.

Global Alliance for Vitamin A

We share and promote research on vitamin A

We chair the Global Alliance for Vitamin A (GAVA), which is an informal alliance of partners whose mission is to accelerate progress toward improved child survival and reduce the consequences of vitamin A deficiency worldwide. GAVA provides a forum for achieving consensus on research, policy, and program evidence-based approaches to achieve optimal vitamin A intake among vulnerable populations.

Visit the GAVA website for resources and tools for vitamin A stakeholders