Sub-national estimates of vitamin A supplementation coverage in children: a geospatial analysis of 45 low and middle-income countries

Abstract

Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) can protect children from the adverse health consequences of vitamin A deficiency. To inform the geographically precise targeting of VAS programs and provide a benchmark for monitoring progress in reducing geographic disparities in coverage over time, we created high resolution maps (5km x 5km) of the proportion of preschool-age children (6-59 months) covered by VAS in 45 UNICEF designated VAS priority countries using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys program. In addition to prevalence, we estimated absolute VAS coverage and exceedance probabilities using thresholds of 0.5 and 0.7. We found that most countries had coverage levels below 70\%. Coverage varied substantially between and within countries. Inter-national variations were most notable in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Africa, whereas intra-national variations were greatest in some south Asian and west and central African countries. These maps, especially when used along with high-resolution data on indicators of VAS need, could help VAS programs improve equity.