VITAMIN A - A GLOBAL PROBLEM, A LOCAL PROBLEM

* Forty- three million children under the age of five suffer from Vitamin A deficiency worldwide.

* UNICEF reports that 760,000 Nicaraguan children under the age of nine years are deficient in Vitamin A.

WHAT CAUSES VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY?

* Lack of Vitamin A in the diet.

* Malnutrition, Worms

* Other diseases that interfere with the absorption of Vitamin A

WHO IS MOST AT RISK

* Women of childbearing age - their Vitamin A status during pregnancy and times of breast-feeding influences the Vitamin A status of their children.

WHAT IMPACT DOES VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY HAVE ON CHILD SURVIVAL?

Field studies have shown an association between Vitamin A status and three of the leading causes of childhood mortality: measles, acute respiratory illness and diarrhea.

WHAT DO DIARRHEA, RESPIRATORY INFECTION AND MEASLES HAVE IN COMMON?

* Lack of Vitamin A is known to cause nutritional blindness in children.

* Vitamin A deficient children are more vulnerable to complications from diarrhea, respiratory infections, and measles, which can result in death.

* Children with mild Vitamin A deficiency are found to develop acute respiratory illness and diarrhea at two and three times the rate of other children.

WHAT IS THE ANSWER?

Increasing Vitamin A intake is now recognized as one of the most cost-effective interventions for child survival. It is estimated that a 20 to 25 percent reduction in infant and child deaths can be achieved through Vitamin A interventions alone.

VITAMIN A DOSAGE AND HOW IT WORKS

Depending on the age of the child, those 0 thru 12 months receive 100,000 units twice a year and children ages 12 months thru 60 months are provided with 200,000 units twice a year. Vitamin A is retained in the liver and only that which is required each day is given to the body. A 200,000 unit capsules lasts six months.

I must point out that an overdose of Vitamin A can also cause death in a child. It is a must that the dosage is monitored to prevent illness or the possibility of death due to an overdose.

VITAMIN A & NICARAGUA

* Nicaragua and its people have faced more than their share of challenges in the past decades. There were economic and social obstacles that Nicaragua faced even before Mitch bore down on the country with destructive fury.

* It is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere after Haiti.

* 50% of it's people live on less than a dollar per day.

* 60% of the population is either unemployed or underemployed.

* Annual per capita income is $473.00

WHY WAS WI/NIC PARTNERS CHOSEN AS PARTNERS

The partners was established 35 years ago and have an excellent working relationship with the Nicaragua Government. This was a great help in getting started and to this day it still remains a great help as the Partners have an excellent relationship with the Nicaragua Minister of Health plus all of the other departments within the government. Working with a third world country is very difficult; they certainly do not operate like we do. To sum it up: we hurry and then wait and wait and wait.

MEETING WITH NICARAGUA MINISTER OF HEALTH

There were about 24 people attending this meeting with the Minister of Health Director of Micro-Nutrients and his staff of 12, plus Lion members of District 27-E2 and D-5, plus several Doctors and staff members of the WI/NIC Partners. The main purpose, the meeting was called, was to take a look at what has been accomplished and what the future plans are.

In 1993 blood samples where taken to check Vitamin A deficiency and again in the fall of 2000. The reports I am presenting to you are still not final but will give you some idea as to what has taken place since we started giving Vitamin A in Nicaragua.

1993 SAMPLING 2000 SAMPLING

NATIONAL AVERAGE 31.3% 9.1%

MANAGUA 29.3% 11.9%

LOW INCOME FAMILIES 39.2% 8.1%

(How about that Fellow Lions? What an improvement ! Thanks to Lions like you, you that made this happen!)

Now lets take a look at the future. First of all MINISA would like for us to complete another seven years of distribution but, for now, we are assigned areas that we are to cover. The reason being these are the most depressed areas and certainly need help in the distribution of Vitamin A. We have been assigned seven areas with the possibility of an eighth area. The following areas assigned at this time are:

Region Altantico Norte 32,653 ninos

Region Altantico Sur 13,849 ninos

Total 329,385 ninos

Included in the above figures are the children under the age of one who receive 80,413 100,000-unit capsules This brings the total of children covered to almost 50% of the population.

You must always remember what an impact you have had on the lives of children in Nicaragua. It is my understanding that this project is the first of its kind that has continued for over six years. This is what has brought the large number of lives being saved. Quoting USAID, "in the past, a group will go into a country and provide a dose of Vitamin A, then never return. What must be done, is to continue the project over a long term to get the results such as you have. One dose will not do it, it has to be continued over an extended period of time."

SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU HAVE DONE

We are presently providing Vitamin A to 400,000 children, which are about 47% of the total population of the age group we are working with. UNICEF has estimated the death rate of children under the age of 60 months is 50 per 1000.

As stated earlier, UNICEF has estimated that from 20 to 25% reduction of deaths can be realized with the proper amount of Vitamin A in the diet.

Based on the above figures we the Lions of Wisconsin, that take part in the Vitamin A program in Nicaragua, using the 20% reduction, we have reduced the death rate of the children in Nicaragua by at least 4000 children and this does not include what we have accomplished in Blindness.

What an accomplished! Thank you, thank you, thank you! A big thank you from all the parents and children of Nicaragua for your help in this great program.

I am sure someone out there would like to know the cost to treat each child. Well take a guess. Would you believe, just .045 cents per year!

In closing, "thank you so very much for all you have done in preventing sickness, death and blindness to our children of Nicaragua," from the parents, MOH and Dr’s. of Nicaragua. "You are our angels of happiness; may God bless each of you."

Please keep up your great work in helping the children of Nicaragua.