Comparison of mass vitamin A supplementation coverage results by post event coverage survey and reported tallies

BACKGROUND: Sierra Leone has reduced child mortality from 267/1000 in 2005 to 118/1000 in 2010. An estimated 23% of this reduction can be attributed to Vitamin A Supplementation (VAS) as coverage of at least 80% was achieved and maintained since 2004. METHODOLOGY: Multi-staged cluster sampling was used to select 30 Enumeration Areas (EAs) country-wide and 30 households within each EA. One caretaker per household whose child was 6-59 months old was randomly selected and interviewed. Data were collected by trained surveyors using mobile phones via Episurveyor. RESULTS: In all, 92.5% of caretakers recalled their children received VAS (697/753), 4.5% of children were missed and 3% of caretakers did not remember if their child received VAS. Of the missed children, 47% (n=16) had been out of the area, 29% (n=10) of caretakers' homes were not reached by VAS teams, and 15% (n=5) did not know about the campaign. Of those who received VAS, 93% (647/697) received VAS via door to door and 7% (n=50) at health centers. VAS coverage reported by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation based upon tallies of capsules utilized (1,266,861) and a target population projection from the 2004 census (1,205,077) was 105%.

CONCLUSION: The results show that mass VAS in Sierra Leone reaches over 90% of children age 6-59 months. These efforts need to be sustained to support continued reduction in child mortality in Sierra Leone.Because the projected census figures underestimate the actual population, post event coverage surveys should be regularly conducted to validate VAS coverage.