Research has shown if children receive optimal health and nutrition for the first 1,000 days, they often experience a trajectory of steady growth and development. Furthermore, these children are also more likely to reach their fullest academic potential and earnings across their life span. Unfortunately, millions of children around the world experience socioeconomic inequities that can create significant gaps in their health and nutrition during this critical window of life. For communities located in remote regions—city residents who cannot afford costly health care and villagers who face only seasonal access to nutritious foods—the health risks and poor development of their next generation are amplified.
Vitamin Angels is a global public health nutrition organization that promotes health and economic equity across the life span by ensuring nutritionally vulnerable, underserved young children and pregnant women have access to evidence-based nutrition interventions.
In 2020, Vitamin Angels will reach nearly 70 million nutritionally vulnerable pregnant women and children in over 70 countries around the world. How the organization ensures such widespread access on a global scale is what makes the group unique.
Drawing on active partnerships with over 2,500 NGOs and government entities globally, Vitamin Angels’ scalable and adaptable distribution model leverages the infrastructure and expertise of local stakeholders to effectively implement its nutrition interventions. Through this model, Vitamin Angels is able to provide health care professionals and community health care workers around the world with the opportunity to expand their repertoire of health services to include vitamin A, albendazole (deworming), MMS and supplementary feeding.
To read this article in its entirety, check out the Children and toddler nutrition: Winning strategies to feed the future – digital magazine.
Marina Mendizabel is a marketing professional with a passion for visual and written storytelling. As content marketing coordinator for Vitamin Angels, she plays a vital role in developing and showcasing the stories of the mothers and children around the world impacted by the organization’s nutrition interventions.
