Vitamin A for Africa (International Potato Center)

In Africa, more than three million children under the age of five are blind due to a vitamin A deficiency and 50 million more are at risk of blindness. Vitamin A deficiency is also one of the leading causes of death for children and a major risk factor for pregnant women.

A simple solution is available: a variety of sweetpotato that is particularly rich in beta-carotene, which the body converts easily into vitamin A. Just half a cup a day of this type of sweetpotato protects the health of children and also dramatically reduces maternal mortality rates. The sweetpotatoes — called orange-fleshed sweetpotatoes— are inexpensive and easy to grow, and children love their sweet taste.

To promote the production and use of orange-fleshed sweetpotatos, the International Potato Center developed Vitamin A for Africa (VITAA), a partnership program that brings together more than 70 agencies focused on health, nutrition, and agriculture.

VITAA works at the community level, targeting mother’s groups and food-producing organizations. VITAA demonstrates the benefits of the improved sweetpotatoes through nutrition education and other programs, and encourages farmers to grow them for their families and for sale. Many people now make their living selling the sweetpotatoes. People living in disrupted areas of Africa are also benefiting from them: in northern Uganda, where violence has forced many farmers to live in protected camps, the improved sweetpotatoes are making food supplies more secure, generating income, and improving the health of their families.