TO DETERMINE THE STATUS OF VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENTATION (VAS) IN 12-59 MONTHS AGED CHILDREN OF CHHATTISGARH

Background- Vitamin A deficiency disorder spectrum has the unique distinction of being one of the most important causes of 'Preventable Blindness' the world over, and Xerophthalmia still remains a problem in the developing countries. The overall prevalence of Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) in India is up to 6% and in some backward pockets it is up to 12%. Aims- To determine the status of Vitamin A Supplementation (VAS) in 12-59 months aged children of Chhattisgarh attending Tertiary Care Hospital. Methods and materials- this cross-sectional study done in department of paediatrics in tertiary health care hospital at Chhattisgarh from august 2023 to august 2024 to evaluate the vitamin A supplementation status of under 5 aged children. A total of 400 children were studied, who met the inclusion criteria and willing to participate in the study. A pretested questionnaire was asked from them regarding parameters like age, vitamin A deficiency signs, vitamin A supplementation in last 6 months and total number of doses received, number of episodes of minor (treated on OPD basis) and major (requiring hospital admission) illness. Then the children were examined for wasting, stunting, and vitamin A deficiency signs. The reasons for partial or no coverage of vitamin A supplementation was also studied in the study. Results: Out of 400 children, 28 (7%) children were having moderate wasting while 3 (1%) children were having severe wasting. 21 (5%) children were having moderate stunting and 2 (0.5%) were having severe stunting. Vitamin A deficiency signs was noted in 2 (0.5%) children belonging to 24-35 months age group. Vitamin A supplementation with 1 dose in last 6 months was received by only 134 (33.5%) children, indicating very low VAS coverage. VAS coverage decreases as age increases. In 12-23 months age group, 60.5% children received VAS in last 6 months whereas in 24-35 months age group VAS coverage dropped to 22%. No children received full 9 doses of vitamin a. Reason for partial or no VAS coverage in majority (56.5%) cases was unawareness about 9 doses of vitamin A supplementation as well as its importance. While in 6% cases unavailability of vitamin A at the time of vaccination. Conclusion- Vitamin A supplementation coverage in under 5 aged children of Chhattisgarh, with 1 dose of vitamin A in last 6 months, was 33.5%, which indicates low VAS coverage in   Chhattisgarh and Vitamin A supplementation coverage decreases with increasing age. Since the study population consisted of under 5 aged children of   Chhattisgarh, further study needs to be done among the children of other districts of Chhattisgarh before the data can be extrapolated to the Chhattisgarh statistics. Hence, there is a dire need for operational research on the implementation of vitamin A prophylaxis programme in all Indian states.