Causes of vitamin A, iron and iodine deficiencies

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) results when body stores are used up either because too little vitamin A is present in the foods, or there is insufficient absorption of vitamin A from foods.

For example, if a diet is lacking in oils or fats, vitamin A is not well absorbed and utilised. VAD can also result from rapid utilisation of vitamin A during illnesses (particularly measles, diarrhoea and fevers), pregnancy and lactation, and during phases of rapid growth in young children.

If the vitamin A status in the body is very low:

• The immune systems become weak and illness is more common and more severe, increasing under-five death rates
• The eye could be damaged with appearance of lesions, and when severe, blindness can occur
• There is an increased risk of a woman dying during pregnancy or during the first three months after delivery.

Iodine is found naturally in topsoil, but in most areas of the country and especially the highlands, top soil has been lost due to deforestation, erosion and flooding, and thus food crops lack iodine resulting in dietary iodine deficiency.

Anaemia has multiple causes. Its direct causes can be broadly categorised as poor, insufficient or abnormal red blood cell production, excessive red blood cell destruction, and excessive red blood cell loss. Contributing causes include poor nutrition related to dietary intake and dietary quality (iron deficiency in particular), infectious and parasitic diseases; inadequate sanitation and health behaviours; lack of access to health services; and poverty.

The two major direct causes of anaemia, with excessive red cell destruction, are malaria and worm infections.