Helen Keller International: Preventing Blindness in Africa

1. Helen Keller International Preventing Blindness in Africa February 2010

2. About Vitamin A Deficiency • Vitamin A deficiency(VAD) is the leading cause of blindness in children in the world today. • The World Health Organization estimates that as many as 140 million children, especially in Africa and Southeast Asia, suffer from VAD. • Each year, up to 500,000 children, or up to 60 per hour, go blind because of vitamin A deficiency. • Tragically, 70% of these children die within a year of losing their sight.

3. Up to 500,000 Children Go Blind Each Year Because Of Vitamin A Deficiency © HKI/Wendy Lee

4. The Challenge in Africa • As many as half of the children in African countries suffer from vitamin A deficiency. • In Sierra Leone, for example, nearly 3 out of 10 children do not live to see their 5th birthday. • The challenge: how to reverse the devastation caused by blindness and malnutrition.

5. As Many as Half The Children in African Countries Suffer From Vitamin A Deficiency © HKI/Wendy Lee

6. Helen Keller International: Providing Solutions to VAD in Africa • Just two doses of high-potency vitamin A capsules are needed each year to prevent blindness in at-risk children, at a cost of just $1.00 per child per year. • Helen Keller International’s goal is to ensure that the capsules reach those most in need. • We work with local partners to distribute vitamin A capsules twice a year to children under five.

7. How Helen Keller International Prevents Vitamin A Deficiency • Vitamin A not only saves sight, it also saves lives by helping the immune system fight illness. • More than 41 million African children benefitted from our vitamin A supplementation programs last year.

8. More than 41 million African children benefitted from our programs last year © HKI/Carol Stein

9. About Onchocerciasis • Onchocerciasis, is the world’s second-leading infectious cause of blindness, afflicting 18 million people, mostly in Africa. • Also known as river blindness, onchocerciasis is caused by parasitic worms that are transmitted through the bite of the black fly. • In Africa, 37 million people are infected with onchocerciasis and 89 million are at risk of infection.

10. In Africa, 37 Million People Are Infected with Onchocerciasis © HKI

11. How Helen Keller International Helps Control Onchocerciasis • An annual dose of the drug Mectizan® (ivermectin), generously donated by Merck & Co., Inc., prevents symptoms for one year. • In order to eliminate onchocerciasis as a public health problem, the drug must be given to community members for 15-20 years, the life cycle of the worms.

12. How Helen Keller International Helps Control Onchocerciasis • Helen Keller International trains and mobilizes vast networks of community volunteers to get Mectizan® to the people who need it. • Thanks to our efforts and these hardworking volunteers, onchocerciasis is on its way to being eliminated in Africa!

13. Working with local volunteers, we are eliminating onchocerciasis in Africa! © HKI

14. Help Helen Keller International Save Sight & Lives in Africa: Donate Today! © HKI/Video for Good