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Journal of Tropical Pediatrics Advance Access published online on February 26, 2008
Journal of Tropical Pediatrics, doi:10.1093/tropej/fmm095
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© The Author [2008]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Coverage of the National Vitamin A Supplementation Program in Ethiopia

Richard D. Sembaa, Saskia de Peeb, Kai Suna, Martin W. Bloemb and V. K. Rajuc

aWilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
bNutrition Service, Policy, Strategy and Programme Support Division, World Food Programme, Rome, Italy and
cEye Foundation of America, Morgantown, WV, USA

Correspondence: Richard D. Semba, MD MPH, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 550 N. Broadway, Suite 700, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Tel: 1-410-955-3572; Fax: 1-410-955-0629; E-mail < rdsemba{at}jhmi.edu>.


  Abstract

Periodic vitamin A supplementation is a major intervention to reduce morbidity, mortality, and blindness among children in developing countries. The goal was to characterize the coverage of the Ethiopia national vitamin A program among preschool children and to identify risk factors for not receiving vitamin A. In the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey of 2005, among 4762 preschool children, aged 12–59 months, 46.8% received a vitamin A capsule within the last 6 months. There were no significant differences in stunting, underweight, or wasting between children who did or did not receive a vitamin A capsule. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, maternal education of ≥10 years [odds ratio (OR) 1.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23–2.92], 7–9 years (OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.67–3.65), 4–6 years (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.18–2.07), and 1–3 years (OR 1.11, 95% CI 0.90–1.37), and paternal education of ≥10 years (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.14–2.29), 7–9 years (OR 1.24, 95% CI 0.94–1.64), 4–6 years (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.03–1.56), and 1–3 years (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.05–1.50) were associated with the child receiving a vitamin A capsule compared with no years of formal parental education. Expanded coverage of the national vitamin A capsule program may help protect children from nutritional blindness and to help reach Millennium goals for reducing under-five child mortality in Ethiopia.

Key Words: blindness • morbidity • mortality • vitamin A


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