While most companies these days are looking for the next big supplement or functional food, the Santa Barbara, CA-based Vitamin Angel Alliance, is only interested in getting back to the basics-of nutrition that is. This non-profit, non-sectarian organization was created in 1994 to fight malnutrition and childhood blindness around the world. Since its inception, according to Howard Schiffer, president and CEO, the organization has certainly had its hands full, shipping over 37.6 million supplements to 40 countries around the world.

Working in partnership with Direct Relief International, a disaster relief and medical assistance organization, the Alliance provides health education and nutritional supplements to individuals, families and communities that are medically underserved or at risk of a specific condition or illness.

Underlining the importance of basic nutrition, Mr. Schiffer discussed a World Health Organization (WHO) report issued last year that highlighted the top 10 leading causes of death in the world. “This report found that of the 57 million deaths in the world, the number one health factor that led to death was lack of food, which points to the significant role we can play by serving regions in need and getting them basic nutrition through supplements,” he said. “With the people we serve basic nutrition is often the major difference between life and death.”

To put it in perspective on which vitamins the organization distributes and why, Mr. Schiffer offered some examples. “For the people we are serving, vitamin C is not taken to prevent the common cold, rather it is taken to prevent scurvy. Scurvy is something that doesn’t exist in the U.S. because there are plenty of citrus fruits available that have a lot of vitamin C. However, in other parts of the world citrus fruits are not as easy to come by.” Mr. Schiffer continued, “Another problem is rickets, which is a major health issue in Tibet right now. We are going into that country with vitamin D and calcium because 70% of the child population is vulnerable to that condition.” Lastly, Mr. Schiffer discussed the Alliance’s distribution of vitamin A to children in a move to prevent blindness. “The diets of many children of the world are depleted of vitamin A and fat-which helps store the vitamin A. Because of this many children go blind, a condition that is irreversible and easily preventable,” he said, adding, “Suffice it to say that with a very small amount of supplements we can have a very large impact.”

Nutritional supplements that are sent around the world by the Vitamin Angel Alliance and Direct Relief International are contributed by an association of “Corporate Angels.” This group is mostly made up of nutritional supplement manufacturers, distributors and retailers. The goods supplied by scores of these companies are donated to charitable healthcare facilities and programs located in countries across the globe, including the U.S.

Mr. Schiffer described the relationship that the organization maintains with the natural products industry as very close. “The connection with the natural products industry is crucial because it was the first group that believed in what we were doing. Companies that I consider to be the soul of the natural products industry, and who I would call the true believers, are a part of this program,” he offered. “We have always positioned ourselves as the humanitarian arm of the natural products industry and my sense is that we are the best advertisement for the industry, showing how many companies truly want to make the world a healthier place.”

Mr. Schiffer considers the Alliance to be in a very unique position in that it has defined a need and can provide a unique solution. He commented, “It’s not like we are dealing with a disease for which there is no known cure or something that will take billions of dollars for which to find a solution. We have the solution and it is pretty simple and inexpensive.”

For the future, Mr. Schiffer said he wants the Vitamin Angel Alliance to be able to do bigger, more expensive programs to assist more countries in need. “I would like to see us distribute one hundred million supplements, or even hundreds of millions every year,” he said. “Right now our demand far, far exceeds our supply and my goal for the future is to make sure that gap is non-existent.”-R.M.W.