Zinc Supplementation

The Problem

• Diarrhea is one of the most common causes of death among children in developing countries.
• Therapeutic zinc supplementation can decrease the severity and duration of diarrhea and the incidence of both diarrhea and pneumonia among young children.
• Recent estimates suggest that zinc deficiency is associated with at least 4 percent of overall child mortality.

What HKI Is Doing

• In collaboration with local partners, Helen Keller International works with national governments to adopt the WHO/UNICEF guidelines to include zinc supplementation in national diarrhea control programs and to train health workers to implement these guidelines.
• HKI’s Africa Regional Office in Senegal hosts the secretariat of the International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group (IZiNCG): www.izincg.org.
• HKI’s programs also promote optimal breastfeeding and improved hygiene practices to prevent these life-threatening infections in the first place.  Helen Keller International is dedicated to preventing malnutrition worldwide.

• Program Locations
• Burkina Faso
• Cameroon
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Mali
• Niger
• Tanzania

• Recent News
• "G8 must seize chance to tackle undernutrition"
• From A to Zinc: HKI Hailed for Innovative Programs
• "Reducing Child Mortality"
• more...

• Key Publications
• New World Health Organization guidelines and Home Fortification Technical Advisory Group program guidance on the use of multiple micronutrient powders for home fortification of foods for pregnant women and young children.
• (NNA April 2011_Eng) Repositioning children’s right to adequate nutrition in the Sahel: Results of a Situational Analysis
• (NNA March 2011_Eng) A review of phytate, iron, zinc, and calcium concentrations in plant-based complementary foods used in low-income countries and implications for bioavailability. 2) The adequacy of micronutrient concentrations in manufactured complementary foods from low-income countries.
• more...