Harnessing the SMC campaign in Nigeria: Safety, equity and cost of fully integrating vitamin A supplementation
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Resources: Poster
Authors: Olusola Oresanya, Abimbola Phillips, Ebenezer Ihechukwu, Olabisi Ogunmola, Taiwo Ibinaiye, Kabir Muhammad, Emmanuel Shekarau, Jesujuwonlo Fadipe, Umar B. Abubakar, Nneka Onwu, Helen Counihan, Jane Achan
Integrating VAS with SMC is safe, feasible, acceptable to communities and implementers, and can be achieved at minimal additional cost.
Given the scale-up of seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) in Nigeria from 40,000 children in 2013 to over 22 million in 2022, and its expansion from the Sahel region to new geographies, this community-based platform could support the delivery of additional life-saving interventions, including vitamin A supplementation (VAS). Malaria Consortium carried out research in 2019 on the feasibility and acceptability of co-implementing VAS with SMC in Sokoto state, Nigeria. In 2021, we conducted a follow-up study in Bauchi state on the safety, equity, feasibility and cost of integration in rural and urban settings, targeting 165,000 children under five.
This poster was presented at the 71st annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
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American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting