Building on Uganda's Progress in Reducing Anemia among Children: From Evidence to Action

Abstract

Objectives: Anemia is a problem of public health significance in Uganda. In 2001, 71% of children under-five were anemic. In 2011, the prevalence of anemia had declined to 50% among children. This large decline in anemia prevalence has prompted questions of what factors have contributed to the reductions in prevalence. The SPRING project with the MOH, undertook a secondary analysis of the Uganda Demographic and Health Surveys (UDHS) to understand changes in anemia prevalence among children. Methods: The study analyzed the trends in anemia prevalence and explored the plausibility of different programs having played a role in the prevalence of anemia in among children 6-59 months using the UDHS 2001, 2006 and 2011. Results: There were broad based reductions of anemia prevalence across all strata of children in country between 2006 and 2011. There was also a striking growth in the number of anemia-relevant programs that Ugandan children engaged in. When participation in deworming, vitamin A supplementation, and bed nets programs was measured-the mean number of programs that children 6-23 months participated in increased from 1.31 in 2006 to 1.63 in 2011, and among 24-59m olds, the number increased from 1.28 to 1.71, an increase of 34%. Conclusions: Although the changes in anemia prevalence cannot be causally linked to changes in anemia-related program coverage due to the limitations of the data, the greatest reductions in anemia prevalence were seen among children engaged in anemia-related programs. Program participation in Uganda seems to be a significant factor in changing anemia prevalence among children in Uganda.