DSM Non-Profit Partners With Vitamin Angels

BASEL, SwitzerlandSight and Life, a non-profit humanitarian initiative of DSM, teamed up with Vitamin Angels to attack vitamin A deficiencies in India. Through this partnership, both organizations hope to mobilize support for the initiative, foster local ownership of the problem of vitamin A deficiency in India, and catalyze a locally sustainable supply and distribution system in India.

Through this partnership, Sight and Lifes advocacy and technical expertise and Vitamin Angels successful implementation of universal vitamin A supplementation projects, aims to reach millions of those in India who have to date not had access to life-saving vitamin A" says Dr. Klaus Kraemer, Director of Sight and Life.

The mission of Sight and Life is to ensure a sustainable and significant improvement in human nutrition, health and well-being through its commitment to fighting micronutrient deficiencies among the worlds poor. Vitamin Angels aims to mobilize and deploy private sector resources to advance availability, access and use of vitamin A by newborns, infants and children most in need.

Some 535 million children around the world suffer from moderate to severe vitamin A deficiency. Thirty seven percent of these children live in India, making addressing vitamin A deficiency in India a critical component of the global challenge to eliminate micronutrient deficiencies.

Xerophthalmia is a visible indicator of vitamin A deficiency. This eye disorder can lead to permanent blindness in children. Others who are deficient in vitamin A show no signs of xeropthalmia, but have a reduced ability to resist infections that can and does result in death and disability.