Vitamin A Deficiency Blindness

Each year, between 250,000 and 500,000 children with vitamin A deficiency become blind; half of them die within 12 months of losing their sight. A high-dose capsule every 4-6 months is recommended for children in affected areas up to 59 months of age. To reach all of these children, the softgel caps should be blister-packaged for community-based mass drug administration. Estimated costs are less than four cents to manufacture and blister-package each capsule.