In settings with recent (within the last five years) and reliable data that indicate a high infant mortality rate (greater than 50 per 1000 live births) and a high prevalence of maternal vitamin A deficiency (> 10% of pregnant women with serum retinol concentrations < 0.70 µmol/L), providing newborns with a single oral dose of 50 000 IU of vitamin A within the first three days after birth may be considered to reduce infant mortality.