Last update: Jun 2008
Priority Countries: Vitamin A Supplementation
Priority countries for vitamin A programming have been defined as follows:-
High mortality countries:
Sixty-one countries with high under-five mortality (under-five mortality rate >= 70 deaths per 1,000 live births) based on the most recent estimates from UNICEF are considered priority countries for vitamin A. Among these 61 high mortality countries: 34 have carried out national-level assessments indicating a vitamin A deficiency public health problem; 16 have conducted sub-national assessments suggesting a likely problem; and prevalence data were unavailable from the remaining 11 countries. -
Vitamin A deficiency public health problem:
Thirty-five additional countries with lower under-five mortality rates (i.e., >= 70 deaths per 1,000 live births) but evidence of a vitamin A deficiency problem are also considered priority countries for vitamin A deficiency control programmes. The World Health Organization classifies vitamin A deficiency as a public health problem based on national-level assessments indicating: a) prevalence of night blindness exceeded 1% and/or prevalence of Bitot's spots exceeded 0.5% among preschool age children or pregnant women; or b) prevalence of ocular signs did not meet the above criteria, but prevalence of low serum retinol concentrations (<0.7 µmol/l) among preschool age children or pregnant women exceeded 10%. Countries with sub-national prevalence data meeting the defined cut-offs were assumed to have a "likely VAD public health problem," but were not systematically included as priority countries for vitamin A deficiency control programmes. Data on the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency are available from the World Health Organization's Micronutrient Deficiency Information System. -
History of programming:
Seven additional countries did not meet the above criteria, but are considered priority countries due to recognition of a deficiency problem on the part of the government and a demonstrated commitment to deficiency control programming.
A complete list of the vitamin A priority countries and the reasons for their inclusion is provided in the "Country Data on Vitamin A Deficiency Control" section.