The success of the supplementation programs has clearly demonstrated that providing adequate Vitamin A decreases the incidence, duration and severity of childhood diseases, such as measles. They showed, too, that Vitamin A deficiency increases the risk in children of routine infections becoming severe infections that lead to death even before the signs of night blindness develop. And roughly half a million children still go blind each year due to Vitamin A deficiency. 100-250 million children remain severely affected by Vitamin A deficiency. More needs to be done for those not currently being reached.
Infants being weaned on rice gruel are particularly vulnerable, since they eat little else.
Educational programs promoting home gardening can help, but this is not a year-round solution since Vitamin A deficiency tends to be seasonal, peaking in the late dry season, when fruits and vegetables are not available, stored rice is the principal food, and body stores of retinol have been exhausted. Here, rice is the staple food, accounting for 80 percent of caloric intake in some countries. Rice grain is the world's most important source of human food. It is a good provider of calories and protein, but rice scientists have long recognized its micronutrient deficiencies. Even when there are government programs to fortify rice, they do not reach the rural poor, who grow their own rice and mill it by hand pounding at home, or in small mills scattered throughout rural areas.