The mission staff aided in the delivery of Vitamin A to eligible children and in educating them on healthy diet, the embassy said in a statement. Vitamin A deficiency was once a severe health problem in Nepal. Two large, community-based trials, financed by the USAID in the 1980s, found that child mortality could be reduced by up to 30 percent through the distribution of Vitamin A to children aged 6–59 months. Based on the results of the trials, the National Vitamin A Programme was developed and, since 1993, has been implemented by the ministry with technical assistance from USAID.