Determinants of Vitamin A Uptake in Nigeria: The Role of Contextual Factors

Abstract

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a public health problem in many low-income countries including Nigeria. Worldwide, it can be estimated that 190 million preschool-age children are Vitamin A deficient causing 1–2 million deaths annually. In Nigeria the prevalence of VAD is 29.5% with significant variations across the agro-ecological zones; and that only 43% of children aged 6-59months have received Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) in the past six months. We conducted a secondary analysis using the 2013 Nigeria DHS data with the objective of determining factors associated with receipt of VAS using a multi-level technique in which cluster characteristics were regarded as the community-level factors. The analysis involved a weighted sample of 25, 617 children aged between 6 and 59 months whom receipt of vitamin A supplementation was reported by their mothers. A number of individual, household and community level factors were found to be significant determinants of receipt of VAS: maternal education, working status of the mother, place of delivery of child, ANC visits, household wealth index and community levels of maternal education. These community-level factors are significant contextual determinants of VAS uptake contributing up to 96% of variation across the communities. Therefore, these factors should be considered in policy-formulation and programming aimed at improving VAS coverage in Nigeria that will lead to improved child health status and survival.