Assessing women's knowledge on benefits of iron and folic acid and its consumption during pregnancy in northern Nigeria

Background and Objectives: Anemia during pregnancy remains a public health concern in Nigeria with a national prevalence of 61%1. The prevalence is higher in the northern states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Jigawa, Katsina, and Yobe (60%-74%). WHO (2016) recommends daily iron-folic acid (IFA) supplementation beginning as early as possible in pregnancy with a dose of 60mg of elemental iron and 0.4mg of folic acid where the prevalence of anaemia is severe (i.e. >40 percent)? Nutrition International partnered with the government in these five mentioned states since 2019 to improve access to maternal nutrition services with focus on IFA supplementation. A phone survey was conducted in May 2021, to assess women's knowledge on benefits of IFA and its consumption during pregnancy in these states. Methods: A multi-sampling method was employed for the selection of clusters and respondents who participated in the survey. Thirty clusters were selected across the states according to population proportional to size. A sample of nearly 40 women who gave birth in the past 0-5 months were randomly selected from each cluster, and questionnaires were administered through a telephone interview adopted due to the impact and restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 1,091 women completed questionnaires across the 5 states. Results: About 56% of the women interviewed reported hearing messages on IFA, 50% could describe one benefit or reason for consuming IFA, while 54% reported exposure to behavioral change interventions on the importance of daily IFA during pregnancy. Although about 88% of women reported consuming IFA at least once during pregnancy, 42% consumed at least 90 days and only 17% consumed IFA at least 150 days. Conclusion: The findings indicate the need to continue to improve the reach of IFA interventions, with related messages, and the need to identify reasons for low consumption of IFA during pregnancy.