Emphasizing the critical first 1,000 days of life, together, DSM and Vitamin Angels promote the importance of global nutrition by providing lifesaving vitamins to pregnant women and children around the world who are at risk of malnutrition.
Why is Vitamin A so Vital?
As vitamin A is a necessary nutrient in the growth and development of individuals, especially children, DSM and Vitamin Angels are seeking to overcome the problems relating to cultural taboos, the environment and infrastructure to provide families with sufficient amounts of vitamin A.
Vitamin A is an essential nutrient that is needed to develop and maintain healthy eyesight, and to build an immune system that is equipped and ready to fight off potentially fatal illnesses.
Charity Vitamin Angels reports that “it only takes two doses of vitamin A per year to combat the devastating effects of vitamin A deficiency”. By taking Vitamin A, mothers are able to strengthen their immune systems through supplement intake.
Lacking Access to Vitamin A
Providing these vital nutrients also helps to fight off life-threatening illnesses among children in developing countries who are unable to access vitamin A-rich foods.
As the body is unable to produce vitamin A naturally, people are left facing the possibility of malnutrition through insufficient amounts of vitamin A. Vitamin Angels reports that, at present, there are 150 million children around the world who do not get the vitamin A that they need.
Purchasing or growing food containing vitamin A may not be possible in certain areas around the world. As a result, families with children in developing countries facing food insecurity experience the greatest risk of vitamin A deficiency.
In fact, DSM explains that a child who is well-nourished in the crucial first 1,000 days of their life is ten times more likely to overcome life-threatening childhood diseases and will complete 4.6 more grades at school.
Worldwide Nutrition Support
The prevalence of hidden hunger refers to a deficiency in essential vitamins and minerals. For over ten years, DSM’s Nutrition Improvement team and non-profit organization, Vitamin Angels, have been working together to provide these vitamins to children under five, and more recently, to pregnant women too to reduce the risk of malnutrition.
In a bid to address the different forms of malnutrition, as well as shifting the food system to healthier and sustainable production and consumption, DSM also has affiliations and relationships with the UN World Food Programme (WFP), Unicef, World Vision and the World Economic Forum (WEF), The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) programme, Food Reform for Sustainability and Health (FReSH), Partners in Food Solutions, Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Business Network, Sight and Life, and food and nutrition researchers, TiFN.
Future vitamin endeavors
DSM and Vitamin Angels also plan to work together to provide necessary prenatal vitamins and minerals to help look after the health and survival of mothers and their babies. Through their collaborative efforts to date, every minute of every day, DSM and Vitamin Angels are giving four pregnant women these essential nutrients.
Leading vitamin producer, DSM, has the ultimate goal of reaching 50 million mothers by 2030, along with continuing to improve the lives of vulnerable individuals throughout the globe.
