The performance of the expanded programme on immunization in a rural area of Mozambique.
Acta Trop
; 149: 262-6, 2015 Sep.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26095045
ABSTRACT
Vaccines are an effective public health measure. Vaccination coverage has improved in Africa in the last decades but has still not reached WHO/UNICEF target of at least 90% first-dose coverage for vaccines in the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) implemented in Mozambique in 1979. There are concerns about reliability of vaccination coverage official data from low-income countries, and inequities in vaccine administration. We randomly sampled 266 under-five years children from Taninga, a poor rural area in Southern Mozambique under a Demographic surveillance system and collected data directly from the individual national health cards when available (BCG, DTP/HepB/Hib, Polio, Measles). We also collected data on socio-economic variables through an interview. Overall, only 5% of the participants did not receive all the doses of the vaccines included in the EPI in a timely manner (overall vaccination coverage 95%, 95% CI 93.5-95.5%). The socio-economic status was homogenously low and no differences were found between vaccinated and unvaccinated children. Vaccination coverage in Taninga was very high, despite the low socio-economic status of the population. The high performance of the EPI in Taninga is an encouraging experience for achieving high vaccination coverage in low-income rural settings.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bacterial Infections
/
Virus Diseases
/
Vaccines
/
Patient Compliance
/
Immunization Programs
Aspects:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Limits:
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
En
Journal:
Acta Trop
Year:
2015
Document type:
Article