Ottawa, CANADA – A GiveWell recommendation has led to the signing of two new grant agreements to extend Nutrition International’s vitamin A supplementation (VAS) program in Chad to 2025. GiveWell is a non-profit organization that, since 2007, has been dedicated to finding outstanding giving opportunities and recommending programs and organizations that can deliver the highest impact. The recommendation was to extend the grant to Nutrition International to support the VAS program in Chad for a fourth year, with additional funding for the project activities already in progress. The funding comes from two sources, GiveWell’s All Grants Fund and Effective Ventures’ EA Funds. 

“We recommended a $6M grant to Nutrition International, extending support of its vitamin A supplementation program in Chad through 2025,” said GiveWell in a statement. “We think the grant will lead to reduced mortality and other health and income benefits for the children served.”  

GiveWell’s grant recommendation came after the completion of a rigorous evaluation of Nutrition International’s VAS program, which involved extensive research through independent evaluations, budget reviews, and cost-effectiveness modelling. GiveWell is focused on funding the best opportunities they’re able to find to save or improve lives the most per dollar and has only granted to a relatively small number of organizations. 

Nutrition International has been a global leader in vitamin A for more than 30 years, supporting governments to integrate VAS into existing health platforms while improving industry standards and access to ensure children do not miss their lifesaving doses. Working closely with manufacturers and on-the-ground partners, Nutrition International provides 80% of the world’s needed vitamin A capsule supply – more than 10 billion capsules since 1997.  

“Chad has been identified by UNICEF as a priority country for national VAS programming driven by a vitamin A deficiency prevalence exceeding 27%,” said Alison Greig, Senior Technical Director, Global Technical Services and Practice Area Director, Child Survival, Nutrition International. “This recommendation will allow us to reach more children under five with critical vitamin A supplementation, reducing mortality rates.” 

In areas where vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem, VAS is a low-cost, high-impact intervention that reduces the risk of preventable child deaths by strengthening the immune systems of children under five. In addition to increasing children’s capacity to fight diseases like measles and diarrhoea, vitamin A incrementally reduces the odds of child stunting and protects children from preventable blindness.  

With GiveWell’s extended support, Nutrition International can continue its biannual VAS campaigns in Chad, improving health outcomes and unlocking potential.  

Nutrition International continues to work with governments and partners around the world to create programming that ensures children receive the nutrition they need to grow.
 

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