Vitamin-A Partnership for Africa: A Food Based Approach to Combat Vitamin A Deficiency in Sub-Saharan Africa through Increased Utilization of Orangefleshed Sweetpotato

摘要

The Vitamin A for Africa (VITAA) partnership is promoting the increased production and use of orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) to combat vitamin A deficiency in sub-Saharan Africa. This deficiency is one of the leading causes of early childhood death, and a major risk factor for pregnant women in Africa. Vitamin A is essential for a child's normal mental and physical development and for keeping everyone healthy and strong - especially pregnant and lactating mothers. The lack of it can be a death sentence, in some cases directly but more often via a weakened immune system, which exposes victims to diseases such as measles, pneumonia and malaria. Vitamin A deficiency also reduces the ability to see clearly in poor light and can lead to night blindness. The VITAA partnership therefore targets young children and their mothers, who are the most vulnerable to vitamin A deficiency. In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 3 million children under the age of five suffer from vitamin A-related blindness. OFSPs arerich in beta-carotenes that the body converts easily into vitamin A, they are easy to grow and the average consumer can afford them. Efficacy studies have proved that the daily addition of 100 g of the sweetpotato to the diet can prevent vitamin A deficiency in children and dramatically reduce maternal mortality. An ex-ante impact assessment (pilot study) has indicated that introducing the new high beta-carotene cultivars will benefit 50 million African children under the age of six.