Dear Sir,
For decades, Calcutta Rescue has been active in thefight against vitamin A deficiency in Kolkata, India. SIGHT AND LIFE’s contribution to this fight is ab-solutely essential and greatly appreciated by those dis-advantaged families that have benefited from it. Vitamin A supplementation is one of the pillars forimproving the health of malnourished children, and itscrucial role in facilitating proper mental and physicaldevelopment is gaining recognition in the medical lit-erature.
The ambulance of the outreach project of Calcutta Rescue
Calcutta Rescue works to deliver these supplements tochildren and adults who need them on the street and inthe slums of urban Kolkata, as well as in the larger rural
albendazole in order to help prevent vitamin A defi-
area surrounding the city. Our Street Medicine program
ciency. We follow up on those who fail to attend the
has given 130 doses of vitamin A each week for the last
clinics for their supplements, doing house visits to
three years. Approximately 30 of these doses are the
ensure that all patients get the vitamins they need.
first of five for children new to our services. Our TargetInitiated Program (TIP) delivers 130 doses of vita -
Despite these efforts, many children still need addi-
min A in urban Kolkata and another 70 doses in areas
tional nutritional supplements. That is where SIGHT
covered by our rural TIP outreach program.
AND LIFE comes into the picture. SIGHT ANDLIFE’s donations feed this process of improving nutri-
Many children in and around Kolkata are getting inad-
tion, and ensuring the proper growth and development
equate amounts of vitamin A due to a combination of
of some of India’s poorest residents. Research shows
that vitamin A deficiency is a majorcontributor to morbidity and mor-tality worldwide. Beyond stuntingchildren’s growth and making themmore susceptible to infection (theinfection-malnutrition cycle), vita-min A deficiency is also an impor-tant cause of blindness in children. Research also has shown that vita-min A supplements for children atrisk can significantly reduce thechances of damage to sight as wellas help them grow properly andthrive. The need for these supple-ments donated by SIGHT ANDLIFE is most apparent in children
who are already hindered by poorgrowth, disease, and malnutrition.
financial constraints on the families, and infections –
We try to ensure that these donations reach children
especially intestinal parasitic, bacterial, and amoebic
infections – which rob growing children of vitaminsand minerals essential for normal development.
We and our patients would like to thank SIGHT AND
Vitamin A deficiency, in particular, has a strong asso-
LIFE for its generous contribution in the fight against
ciation with chronic intestinal parasites, which are very
the cycles of poverty, malnutrition, and hopelessness.
common among Kolkata’s urban poor. At our perma-nent clinics, and through our street medicine and TIP
outreach programs, Calcutta Rescue treats these infec-
Jonathan Reisman, Calcutta Rescue, Kolkata, India
tions promptly and regularly deworms children with
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Dear Sir,