Improving vitamin A coverage through integration with seasonal malaria chemoprevention in Nigeria
Published:
Resources: Poster
Authors: Olusola Oresanya, Abimbola Phillips, Ebenezer Ihechukwu, Emmanuel Shekarau, Nneka Onwu, Helen Counihan, Jane Achan
SMC is a viable platform to improve vitamin A coverage and access among children under five in low- and middle-income countries.
Although vitamin A supplementation (VAS) can reduce all-cause under-five mortality by 24 percent, its coverage remains low in Nigeria, at 49 percent. Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC), reaching more than 12 million children annually in Nigeria, provides a ready platform for VAS delivery to improve coverage and access. As a follow-up to a previous feasibility study that integrated SMC and VAS delivery, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of full integration of SMC and VAS at scale on vitamin A coverage, SMC coverage, safety, equity and cost.
This poster was presented at the 70th annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
