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Summits - SBCC and C4D
After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Published 13 years ago
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Vitamin A supplementation on child morbidity

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Haidar, J., D. Tsegaye, et al. (2003). "Vitamin A supplementation on child morbidity." East African Medical Journal 80(1): 17-21.

Objective: To determine the impact of vitamin A supplementation on child morbidity and nutritional status.

Design: A community based follow-up (interventional) in nature.

Setting: Two randomly selected Weredas (districts) of Tigray, North Ethiopia were studied between 1996 and 1997.

Subjects: Four thousand seven hundred and seventy children aged between six and 72 months, selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure were enrolled and clinically assessed for xerophthalmia and nutritional status. A sub-sample of these children (n = 281) was further assessed for their serum retinol levels.

Main outcome measures: The pre and post intervention data on xerophthalmia, morbidity, nutritional status and serum retinol levels were compared.

Results: Vitamin A capsule coverage of 87% in all the villages of the Weredas and a statistically significant (p < 0.05) reduction in the prevalence of Bitot's spot (from 1.5 to 0.5), fever (from 29.8 to 14.2), diarrhoea (from 30.2 to 18.2), oedema (from 9.2 to 3.2), measles (from 14.0 to 6.2), conjunctivitis (from 10.2 to 3.0), stunted (from 64.2 to 42.7), wasted (from 12.8 to 2.5) and underweight (from 46.2 to 24.2). The proportion of children with normal serum retinol concentration (> 0.7 μmole/L) has also improved significantly (from 36.8 to 56.2).

Conclusion: In conclusion, the significant improvement in morbidity and nutritional status that followed the intervention programme although encouraging, it still indicates the importance of coupling periodic provision of Vitamin A capsules with nutrition education.