While there have been dramatic gains in reducing child malnutrition in parts of the world, notably Latin America and East Asia, the overall number of malnourished children has increased. Half of South Asia's children are malnourished. In Africa, one out of every three children is underweight. Lives Vitamin A supplements are one of the world's most cost-effective strategies to protect child health. Vitamin A deficiency, which affects about 100 million young children worldwide, has long been known to cause blindness.
New evidence indicates that vitamin A can have an even bigger impact on reducing maternal deaths.
If a pregnant woman does not consume enough iodine, her child may suffer severe, irreversible mental and physical damage. This risk has dropped substantially because of increased use of iodized salt. Most developing countries have begun to iodize their salt or to import iodized salt. The number of babies born severely impaired around 120,000 in 1990 dropped to about half that number in 1997. The Clinton Administration can and should devote more resources to fighting micronutrient malnutrition.