By opposing Golden Rice, Greenpeace defies its own values – and harms children

[roseBudd]

4. Vitamin A interventions to date

http://www.ajstein.de/cv/golden_rice.htm

Vitamin A interventions to date

So far, efforts to address VAD rely mainly on the distribution of medical doses of synthetic vitamin A. Usually these supplementation programmes are targeted at pre-school children, who have to receive a vitamin A mega dose twice a year. While such interventions are considered to be very cost-effective, it represents a considerable cost to cover millions and millions of children two times year on year. Apart from these recurrent costs, which reduce the funds that are available for other humanitarian efforts, in developing countries there are additional problems that limit the coverage and success of such programmes (infrastructure, logistics, qualified health personnel). Children in remote rural areas or in urban slums may not be reached and older children and adults are not covered at all. Programmes for the industrial fortification (e.g. of sugar) face similar obstacles. And the promotion of nutrition knowledge and dietary diversification, while the most desirable option, is also the most long-term and resource-intensive intervention (for instance on the supply side such projects have high staff requirements and their geographic coverage is limited, while on the side of the beneficiaries there can be opportunity costs – especially in form of the time and costs it takes to cultivate or procure the required produce and to prepare the meals – that prevent an uptake).