“SEEING IS BELIEVING” PARNTERSHIP WORKS TO SUPPORT VITAMIN A DISTRIBUTION IN THE KATHMANDU VALLEY

Monday 20 April 2009

On April 19th and 20th staff from Standard Chartered Bank Nepal joined the teams from Helen Keller International and the Nepal Technical Assistance Group to raise awareness and provide support to community health volunteers during the Nepal National Vitamin A Program’s distribution days. The teams are part of Standard Chartered Bank’s global “Seeing is Believing” program. The National Vitamin A program is a fundamental component the Government of Nepal’s efforts to combat child morbidity and mortality. The “Seeing is Believing” teams have been specially trained to support the campaign by working within communities to support awareness, distribution and data collection activities.

Since 2007, Standard Chartered Bank’s “Seeing is Believing” program has worked with Helen Keller International, the Ministry of Health and Population, and the Nepal Technical Assistance Group to strengthen Vitamin A awareness and distribution systems in the Kathmandu Valley. The “Seeing is Believing” partnership directly impacts more than 30,000 children in each round of the bi-annual Vitamin A distribution.

“Standard Chartered Bank Nepal is a vital partner to Nepal’s National Vitamin A program. The Bank’s “Seeing is Believing” program is an outstanding example of a corporate social responsibility program that combines, financial support, staff volunteerism and strategic partnerships to achieve life saving impact on communities within the Kathmandu Valley and around the world.” says David Spiro, Country Director for Helen Keller International in Nepal.

Every 15 seconds, a child dies from infections linked to Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD), with children under two years of age at the highest risk. Worldwide, 127 million preschool children and 7 million pregnant women in the developing world suffer from Vitamin A deficiency. Every year, between 250,000 and 500,000 children go blind from Vitamin A deficiency, 70% of whom will die within one year of becoming blind. An estimated 18% to 25% of children in Nepal still suffer from Vitamin A deficiency.