FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 22, 2020
Contact: Tacy Layne | info@nuruinternational.org
ABUJA, NIGERIA — Vitamin Angels recently partnered with Nuru Nigeria by donating 5,432 bottles of vitamins and deworming medication. These are to be distributed at no cost to underserved women and children in northeast Nigeria.
Included in the donation are vitamin A, Albendazole, and prenatal vitamins and minerals for pregnant women. This donation includes vitamin A for 54,000 children aged 6-11 months and 54,000 children aged 1-5 years old, and prenatals for 5,000 pregnant women. It also includes Albendazole (deworming) doses to benefit 54,000 children.
Vitamin A
Children living in extreme poverty are at a high risk of vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A is important for healthy eyes, strong immune systems, and healthy skin. Children deficient in vitamin A can face blindness. They can also face a myriad of illnesses due to a weakened immune system, stunted growth, and even death.
This crucial vitamin is not naturally produced by the human body. Furthermore, families struggling with food insecurity often do not have access to vitamin A-rich foods. For farmer families living in extreme poverty, the most nutritious and vitamin A-rich crops may be sold to increase household income. Currently, 150 million children worldwide are not getting enough vitamin A.
Albendazole
To decrease under-five child mortality and support the healthy growth of children living in extreme poverty, a vitamin A supplement is necessary. In addition to this supplement, Albendazole is crucial, as it kills parasites that prevent the body from absorbing vitamin A and other necessary nutrients.
Globally, 266 million children are at risk for intestinal worms. While children are most at risk for intestinal worms, they often fall through the cracks in local government deworming programs. In addition to causing pain and making children susceptible to other illnesses, intestinal worms can lead to malnutrition.
Prenatal Vitamins and Minerals
To support the development of healthy babies and healthy pregnancies, Vitamin Angels supplies prenatal vitamins and minerals. Prenatals support fetal growth and healthy birth weight while preventing anemia. These nutrients are crucial for both the mother and the growing baby.
“Nuru Nigeria is deploying nutrition-sensitive agricultural programming. […] Therefore, maternal and child health becomes a key […] to building a resilient and self-reliant community. We are excited about this program because it will create access to adequate health services to the most vulnerable communities. […] A lot of children under five are lost due to lack of access to medical support.” -Nuru Nigeria Executive Director Amy Gaman
Nuru Nigeria and Vitamin Angels
Nuru Nigeria is honored to have the opportunity to partner with Vitamin Angels to ensure that women and children in Nigeria have access to these life-changing supplements. To ensure the vitamins get to the women and children that need them most, Nuru will work with local partners and Nigeria’s government health system to plan for proper distribution.
Vitamin Angels is a public health nutrition organization that helps populations in need–specifically pregnant women, new mothers, and children under five–gain access to life-changing
vitamins and minerals. In 2019, the organization delivered vitamins to nearly 70 million pregnant women and children in 70 countries through 2,500 program partners.