Vitamin A deficiency: what eye health workers can do

Work with colleagues Talk to the nurses and staff who work in maternal and child health clinics nearby. Ask what they know about vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and whether they are aware that it can lead to blindness. Encourage them to pass this information on to parents and to check that all children who are eligible receive their supplements at the correct time. Find out whether they are aware of – or involved in – any preventive vitamin A supplementation programmes. Talk to colleagues in the paediatric ward of your hospital to make sure they have adequate supplies of high-dose vitamin A to treat children with severe diarrhoea, malnutrition and measles (as shown in Table 1, page 68), as these children are at high risk of VAD and blindness.