Abstract

Background: The Government of India launched the National Vitamin A Prophylaxis Program in 1970. Currently, under this program, a total of nine doses of vitamin A should be given to the children orally, with the first dose at 9–12 months of age, followed by biannual doses at 6-monthly interval up to the age of 5 years.

Objective: To evaluate all dose vitamin A supplementation (VAS) coverage and its associated factors and decipher reasons for poor coverage in children aged 12–59 months.

Materials and Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey conducted in Bhangel area of district Gautam-Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, India. The WHO 30-cluster sampling technique was used to select the study subjects. Study subjects included 210 children in the age group of 12–59 months. On the basis of documentary evidence/recall of mothers, the data were recorded in the prestructured pro forma. Bivariate analysis using X2-test was applied to study the association between variables, and multivariate analysis was applied on variables found to be significant on bivariate analysis.

Result: Only 6.2% (13/210) children received all doses of Vitamin A due for respective age. The factors found to be significantly associated with VAS coverage were age, religion, and immunization status for VPDs on bivariate analysis and only age group on multivariate analysis. The most common reason for missing the doses of vitamin A was ignorance among parents, which was found in 84.8% (167/197) subjects.

Conclusion: Appropriate measures should be taken to improve the national coverage of all dose VAS.

Key words: Coverage, vitamin A supplementation, under-five children