Preface and acknowledgments

This document aims to provide those working to eliminate vitamin A deficiency with a listing of the latest significant publications and resources and where they can be obtained. Although those working directly in the planning or implementation of vitamin A interventions are the main audience for this document, it is expected that it would also be of value to researchers or indeed to anyone who needs to consult only the key available resources (e.g., teachers of medical, public health and nutrition students, consultants, technical officers in development assistance agencies). The scope of coverage of the resources is wide, touching on the variety of aspects related to programs dealing with the elimination and control of vitamin A deficiency. In deciding which resources to include, we tried to chose ones that are: technically sound and up-to-date, available (i.e., still in prin), recent, and low-cost. Resources listed are available only in English unless otherwise indicated.

A number of people generously gave their time and lent their technical expertise to enable the preparation of this annotated resource listing. We would like to thank Don de Savigny and Janice Johnson of the Health Sciences Division of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) for their contributions, respectively, to the sections on Measles and vitamin A and Safety and vitamin A: Important emerging issues, and Kevin Sullivan of Program Against Micronutrient Malnutrition for his assistance in the preparation of the section Assessment, monitoring and evaluation. The Manoff Group contributed to preparing the sections on Breastfeeding, Nutrition education and communications, Increasing the availability of vitamin A-rich foods and The vitamin A content of foods. Special thanks are due to Barbara MacDonald of McGill University and to Sian Fitzgerald for the preparation of numerous annotations, to Lilah Moore for her support, and to Tanya Guay of the Micronutrient Initiative for her help on an assortment of tasks. Keith West of Johns Hopkins University, Stephen Simon (formerly of the Micronutrient Initiative) and Mr Flavin of the Manoff Group also provided many useful suggestions for the structure of the overall document, for which we are thankful.

We are deeply grateful to those who provided suggestions regarding key resources to include, or else reviewed certain sections. In particular, Mr James Akre and Dr Barbara Underwood of World Health Organization, and Keith West of Johns Hopkins University could always be counted on for help and practical ideas. Others to whom we are grateful include Ms Laurie Aomari of International Vitamin A Consultative Group, staff at Helen Keller International (New York) and the Food Policy and Nutrition Division of the Food and Agricultural Organization, David Alnwick of UNICEF, Nevin Scrimshaw of the United Nations University, David Ross of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Venkatesh Mannar of the Micronutrient Initiative. All were most helpful, readily offering guidance based on their extensive experience in programs and research to overcome vitamin A deficiency. Our appreciation is also extended to Alison Ball of IDRC who helped undertake literature searches on the topics covered in this document.

The efforts of Gary Bellamy in design and layout are also highly appreciated.

Jenny Cervinskas Mahshid Lotfi