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Fact Sheet: Vitamin A Deficiency in Developing Countries

• Vitamin A is essential for the functioning of the human immune system and can help increase resistance to disease, protect against blindness, and improve chances for survival, growth and development. (World Health Organization [WHO])
• Diets poor in vitamin A are a public health problem in more than 118 countries and affects more than 140-250 million preschool children worldwide. Where this problem exists, it is responsible for as many as one out of every four child deaths. (WHO)
• Vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable childhood blindness in developing countries and a major contributor to infant mortality.
• An estimated 250,000 to 500,000 of vitamin A deficient children become blind each year, with half of them dying within 12 months of losing their sight. (WHO)
• Nearly 600,000 women die from childbirth-related causes each year, the vast majority of them from complications which could be reduced through vitamin-A rich diets. (WHO)