UNICEF launches campaign to combat Vitamin A deficiency

The launch of the new campaign witnessed the presence of a host of artists and stars, who expressed full support and solidarity, including budding actress, Ghada Adel, up-and-coming artist Mahmoud el-Eseily, iconic actress Karima Mukhtar who was keen endorsing the campaign, highlighting artists' responsibility towards their society, and actor Mahmud Qabeel who attended the event in his capacity as a UN Goodwill Ambassador.

"This campaign is one of a series of a social action Pampers plays at the international level in cooperation with UNICEF to combat serious diseases, such as the shortage in essential human nutrient Vitamin A,"

said Mohamed Samir, the Vice President of Proctor & Gamble (P&G) for Egypt and the Near East.

He added, "This vitamin is essential for improving the immune system."

Samir said Pampers in collaboration with UNICEF is keen to launch this campaign in Egypt, Syria and Jordan with the aim of supporting the efforts the governments in these countries make to protect public health.

He added that the campaign would give the chance to the public to play a positive role towards their societies every time they buy the big pack of Pampers.

He said a big portion of the revenues from the sales of these nappies would go to this national campaign.

Samir underlined the importance of such donations for the progress of societies, warning against disease, which he described as a "most serious impediment to sustainable social and economic development".

A recent report by UNICEF stated that more than 100 million children under the age of five suffer a shortage of Vitamin A and that 25% of child deaths boils down to this shortage.

The report added that an acute lack of vitamin A in children's bodies could cause blindness, respiratory diseases and diarrhea, things that lead to death at the end of the day.

That is why the campaign took "One Pampers Pack = One Dose of Vitamin A" as its slogan in a bid to curb child deaths.

Karima Mukhtar expressed her pleasure about taking part in an event that targets mothers' and children's health, particularly in the light of the dangers the lack of Vitamin A poses. She called upon all members of society to join hands to make the initiative a success.

Eseily and Gahda Adel, for their part, expressed an equal pleasure for taking part in the campaign, saying that everybody ought to contribute to the protection and development of society. They added that the collaboration of governments, the private sector and international organizations could bring about the required development in any society.

"The chance to stop diseases caused by the lack of Vitamin A is there," Qabeel said.

He called on governments and civil society institutions to join hands to put an end to diseases that threaten the lives of children.