Aidah Nanyonjo
23 November 2008
Kampala — THE National Crop Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI)-Namulonge plans to embark on a project to incorporate vitamin A in all staple foods.
Dr. Robert Mwanga, a researcher at the institute, says the project aims at fighting Vitamin A deficiency in children and pregnant mothers.
Vitamin A deficiency in Africa is a serious problem. Annually, between 10,000 and 60,000 children in Uganda die from vitamin A deficiency-related illnesses.
According to the 2001 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, 30% of children and 50% of women have vitamin A deficiency (UBOS, 2001).
"Therefore, efforts aimed at increasing availability, accessibility and consumption of staple foods that are rich in vitamin A are a priority as these will go a long way in combating deficiency in Uganda," Mwanga says.
Every after six months, children below six years are supposed to get a dose of vitamin A but most mothers usually take their children to receive it once in a while.
And one way to ensure that children get enough micro-nutrients is to put the micro-nutrients in the major foods such as cassava, matooke and sweet potatoes.
"The reason for putting vitamin A in staple foods is to ensure that people get it without difficulty since it will be in their daily diet.
The moment a person eats the food he/she will be able to get vitamin A in adequate amounts," Mwanga adds.
As part of the project, the institute succeeded in incorporating vitamin A in sweet potatoes. A new variety called the orange sweet potato was made.
It started as a large international project to demonstrate to farmers in areas of Mukono, Bukedea and Kamuli districts. But today, this kind of potato is grown countrywide.
Vitamin A has health benefits for the skin. It helps to keep your system free from toxins that might otherwise cause damage to the skin.
It also helps the skin to retain moisture. Vitamin A helps the eyes stay moist and improves night vision. It also keeps the mucus membranes moist.
Because Vitamin A keeps the mucus membranes moist, it is a great tool for fighting infection. It can also help boost the power of the white blood cells.
This nutrient is also said to help the skeletal system and the reproductive system.
A research carried out in South African shows that children who had vitamin A deficiency were fed on the orange sweet potato for three months and after this period, they had enough Vitamin A and had some stored in their liver.
Top sources of vitamin A include beef, liver, egg yolk, cheese and fortified milk and foods with beta-carotene such as sweet potato, carrots, pumpkin, mangoes and spinach.
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