CANADA TO WORK WITH HKI TO COMBAT
MALNUTRITION AND BLINDNESS IN ZIMBABWE
June 11, 2006– Through
an injection of US$900,000 from
the Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA), Canada working in
partnership with Helen Keller International
(HKI) will support efforts to combat
malnutrition and blindness in Zimbabwe.
Canada’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe,
Roxanne Dubé, made the announcement
at the Government of Zimbabwe’s
launch of the immunization program
for children under 5 years old,
in Makoni district, in the Manicaland
Province today.
“For some time now, Canada
has played a leading role in mitigating
the effects of malnutrition in
the region. We are encouraged that
some two million children in Zimbabwe
will benefit directly, preventing
an estimated 4,900 deaths. For
as little as US$1 per person, a
twice-yearly distribution of high-dose
vitamin A capsules will prevent
blindness and improve these children’s
chances of survival,” she
said.
“On issues of such critical
humanitarian importance and for
the direct benefit of the most
vulnerable people, we are pleased
to collaborate with the dedicated
staff in the Ministry of Health
and the many committed care givers
in rural and urban Zimbabwe,” Dubé added.
The initiative, which is being
implemented by Helen Keller International
(HKI), in collaboration with UNICEF
and WHO, aims to reduce mortality
in children under the age of five
through promoting sustained, high-coverage
vitamin A supplementation combined
with other child survival health
interventions. This will be achieved
by distributing vitamin A capsules
to children between the ages of
6 to 59 months as part of a scheduled,
integrated measles campaign. In
Zimbabwe, this initiative is being
conducted in collaboration with
the Ministry of Health and Child
Welfare (MoH&CW).
This intervention is part of a
larger CIDA initiative currently
being implemented to assist countries
in sub-Saharan Africa in reducing
mortality of children in the target
age group by promoting sustained
high-coverage of Vitamin A supplementation
combined with child survival health
interventions through an injection
of US$ 12m over three years.
Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) has
long been recognized as the leading
cause of preventable blindness
and child mortality in developing
countries. Every year, up to 500,000
children go blind from VAD and
70 percent of these die within
one year of contracting blindness.
In Zimbabwe 28% of children
below the age of five are reportedly
vitamin A deficient and annual
deaths attributable to VAD have
been estimated at 4,900.
Iimproving vitamin A status
has a positive impact on the health
of children as it increases resistance
to disease, combats blindness,
and dramatically improves survival
rates. It also reduces child-mortality
rates from measles by 50%, from
diarrhea by 40%, and from other
causes by 23%. In HIV positive
children, vitamin A supplementation
can slow down progression to AIDS,
thereby enhancing their survival.
Studies reveal that VAD-control
can avert over 645,000 deaths
per year in the sub-region.
“VAD control has therefore
the promise to be one of the most
cost-effective and high-impact
child survival interventions in
this region of the world,” Dubé said.
It is hoped that the campaign
will achieve a minimum 85%
coverage of the targeted age group,
while complementing other child
survival and health interventions.
This will be followed by a post-campaign
survey to assess the extent of
the coverage. The programme also
involves improving monitoring,
evaluation and data use, particularly
progressing towards a child-centred
monitoring system, while enhancing
the capacity of government and
other local partners to maintain
vitamin A supplementation. Attempts
will be made to encourage the use
of vitamin A supplementation in
curative services for children
in accordance with national policies.
For more information please contact
the Public Affairs Section, Canadian
Embassy, on 2521815.
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