Chapter Spotlight: University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy

Category: Written by APhA-ASP Region 3 / 10:29 PM

Chapter Spotlight: University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy

by: Deborah Ratliff

Vitamin deficiency is a serious problem that plagues many of the children in the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 250 million preschool children are vitamin A deficient. The WHO estimates that 250,000 to 500,000 of these vitamin A-deficient children become blind every year, and half of them die within 12 months of losing their sight.

At the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy chapter of APhA-ASP, we understood the severity of this problem and as future health care professionals we decided to step up and raise awareness for this issue. Through a one-week project we shared with our fellow classmates the detrimental effects that vitamin A deficiency has on children. We also set up a table at our university student union and handed out flyers with more information about vitamin A deficiency and collected donations for Vitamin Angels, a charitable organization that helps at-risk populations gain access to micronutrients. The organization’s mission is to mobilize and deploy private resources to increase availability, access to, and use of these micronutrients, particularly vitamin A. One single dose of vitamin A, twice a year can reduce mortality in children under the age of five by 24%. Through this project we were able to raise $1131; the most amazing part of this is that for every quarter that was raised one child was able to get life saving vitamin A for one year, that’s over 4500 children!

Thank for sharing!

About The APhA-ASP

APhA-ASP Region 3

The American Pharmacist Association is the oldest and largest professional organization for pharmacists in the country. The Academy of Student Pharmacists is held within APhA and is comprised by student pharmacists throughout the nation who are still taking classes at their respective colleges of pharmacy. APhA-ASP puts a strong emphasis on patient care initiatives, advocacy for the profession, and overall training to become a professional in the field of pharmacy.

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