Objective To assess the impact of supplementing newborn infants with vitamin A on mortality at age 6 months.

Open burning of biomass fuel in the home is associated with significant health risks to the newborn child and young infant. Community-based trials are needed to clarify causal connections and identify effective approaches to reduce this burden of illnesses.

The regular provision of a supplement of vitamin A to children, at a level potentially obtainable from foods, in an area where vitamin A deficiency and under-nutrition are documented public health problems contributed substantially to children's survival; mortality was reduced on average by 54 percent.

No abstract