Health — Vitamin A & Nutrition

Vitamin A deficiency is a major health problem in Niger, especially among young children and pregnant women. It causes night blindness and, if untreated, can lead to total blindness. The good news is that many locally available foods are rich in vitamin A. This unit teaches the vocabulary for vitamin A-rich foods, the signs of deficiency, and a dialogue about helping a pregnant woman with night blindness.

Vocabulary

Zarma	English
capata	amaranth leaves
ko foy	baobab sauce
danawtaray	blindness
karoti	carrots
kopto hinante	cooked leaves
gunguri	eggs
kopto tayo	green leaves
tasa	liver
mangu	mangoes
windi bundu	moringa
dobu dobu	measles
wa gani	fresh milk
dandumi	night blindness
dandi mufa	papaya
manza ji	red palm oil
laptanda	squash

What Is Vitamin A?

Vitamin A is a nutrient the body needs to keep the eyes healthy and to fight infections. When a person does not eat enough vitamin A, the eyes become weak — first in low light (night blindness / dandumi), and eventually in all light (blindness / danawtaray).

Night Blindness — Causes and Signs

Night blindness (dandumi) is the earliest sign of vitamin A deficiency. A person with dandumi:

• Cannot see well when the sun goes down
• Bumps into things at dusk or in dark rooms
• Has difficulty finding their way at night

Who Is Most at Risk?

• Young children — especially those who have had measles (dobu dobu), diarrhea, or other infections
• Pregnant women — the body needs extra vitamin A during pregnancy
• Breastfeeding women — vitamin A passes through breast milk to the baby

Foods Rich in Vitamin A

Many foods available in Niger contain vitamin A. The richest sources include:

Food	Zarma	Notes
Liver	tasa	The richest source of vitamin A
Mangoes	mangu	Available in the hot season
Papaya	dandi mufa	Available in many gardens
Carrots	karoti	Grown in dry-season gardens
Squash	laptanda	Grown in the rainy season
Red palm oil	manza ji	Available in southern markets
Moringa leaves	windi bundu	Available year-round, extremely nutritious
Baobab leaves	ko foy	Dried and used in sauce
Amaranth leaves	capata	Common garden green
Green leaves (general)	kopto tayo	Dark green leaves are richest
Eggs	gunguri	Available from village chickens
Fresh milk	wa gani	From cattle, goats

Sample Lesson — Vitamin A and Night Blindness

When you visit a village, ask mothers: “Does anyone in your family have trouble seeing at night?” (Boro go ni fu ra kan si hin ka di wiciri ra?) If so, the person may have night blindness from lack of vitamin A.

Explain that eating dark green leaves, mangoes, liver, and eggs can help. Many of these foods are already available — moringa grows everywhere, baobab leaves are in every sauce, and eggs come from village chickens. The problem is not always availability but awareness. Mothers may not know that these foods are especially important for young children and pregnant women.

Encourage mothers to:

1. Add moringa or amaranth leaves to sauce every day
2. Give children mangoes and papaya when in season
3. Include eggs and liver in the diet when possible
4. Breastfeed exclusively for the first six months

Dialogue — Nafissa and Mariama

Nafissa visits Mariama, a pregnant woman who has been having trouble seeing at night.

Speaker	Zarma	English
Nafissa	Fofo, Mariama! Mate ni go?	Hello, Mariama! How are you?
Mariama	Baani samay. Amma ay gonda haala fo.	Fine. But I have a problem.
Nafissa	Ifo no?	What is it?
Mariama	Nda wayna na kaŋ, ay si hin ka di boori. Ay ga tuusu hayey nda borey wiciri ra.	When the sun goes down, I can’t see well. I bump into things and people at night.
Nafissa	Za watifo?	Since when?
Mariama	Za handu hinka. A go ga beeri sohon.	For two months. It’s getting worse.
Nafissa	Mariama, wo ya dandumi no. Ni gaham ga ba namu safari fo kan go nwari ra — vitamin A i ga ne a se.	Mariama, this is night blindness. Your body needs a nutrient found in food — they call it vitamin A.
Mariama	Ifo no ay ga te?	What should I do?
Nafissa	Ni ga ba ni ma nwa nwari kan gonda vitamin A kayna.	You need to eat foods that have a lot of vitamin A.
Mariama	Nwari wo fo?	Which foods?
Nafissa	Kopto tayo — windi bundu, capata — i gonda vitamin A kayna. Ni ga hin ka daŋ i ni foy ra zaaro kulu.	Green leaves — moringa, amaranth — have lots of vitamin A. You can add them to your sauce every day.
Mariama	Ay gonda windi bundu ay kali ra.	I have moringa in my garden.
Nafissa	Boori kayna! Ni ma nwa windi bundu zaaro kulu. Mangu mo — nda a go no — ni ma nwa. Gunguri mo ga gayan.	Very good! Eat moringa every day. Mangoes too — when available — eat them. Eggs help too.
Mariama	Gunguri — ay gonda gorkey ay fu ra.	Eggs — I have chickens at home.
Nafissa	Boori! Ni ma nwa gunguri cee hinka wala hinza simaine ra. Tasa mo — nda aran na wi haw — tasa gonda vitamin A bisa nwari kulu.	Good! Eat eggs two or three times a week. Liver too — when you slaughter an animal — liver has more vitamin A than any other food.
Mariama	Ay ga prouver. Amma dandumi ga ban?	I’ll try. But will the night blindness go away?
Nafissa	Oho, nda ni na nwa nwari wey kayna, dandumi ga ban anniya anniya. Amma a ga haw waati. Ni ma ci ga nwa kopto tayo da gunguri da mangu.	Yes, if you eat those foods regularly, the night blindness will go away gradually. But it takes time. Keep eating green leaves, eggs, and mangoes.
Mariama	Nda ay ize kan ga kaa mo?	And my baby that’s coming?
Nafissa	Vitamin A ga gayan ni ize mo. Nda ni na nwa boori, ni ize ga du vitamin A ni ga nda ni nongu hari.	Vitamin A helps your baby too. If you eat well, your baby gets vitamin A from you and from your breast milk.
Mariama	Barka kayna, Nafissa! Ay ga sintin hunkuna.	Thank you very much, Nafissa! I’ll start today.
Nafissa	Boori! Ay ga ye ni di simaine kan ga kaa.	Good! I’ll come see you next week.