Over 80% Vitamin A supplementation coverage reached during the Cameroon's national Health and Nutrition Week Campaign amidst COVID-19 pandemic

Background and objectives: Vitamin A deficiency affects 35% of children under the age of five years in Cameroon. The Ministry of Public Health Cameroon, and international actors support the delivery of a twice-yearly integrated package of health interventions including vitamin A supplementation (VAS) through the Maternal and Child Health Nutrition Actions Week (SASNIM). One goal of the SASNIM is to achieve at least 80% VAS coverage among children aged 6-59 months. Methods/Intervention: The second round of SASNIM was held in Cameroon from November 26-29, 2021. In total, 5,383,077 children aged 6-59 months were targeted during this nation-wide, four-day campaign. Each VAS distribution team consisted of two people (one distributor and one recorder). Social mobilization activities were held two days prior to, and during the first two days of the campaign. The SASNIM followed GAVA's guidance for delivering VAS during the COVID-19 pandemic, a door-to-door campaign strategy for implementation was adopted to administer VAS outside the household or in well-ventilated areas, and personal protective equipment were provided to all front-line workers administering VAS. Training of the importance of COVID-19 prevention measures, and Supervision checklists were enforced among distributors, supervisors and front-line workers. Results: A total of 4,495,680 (84%) children received VAS during the second campaign in 2021. Coverage results displays three clear patterns, across 10 regions: 1) regions with the majority of the population living in semi-urban or rural sittings obtained a coverage >90% (Adamaoua, North, South, East and Far-North regions), 2) regions with the majority of its population living in urban areas reached a coverage between 70%-90% (Littoral, Center and West regions), and 3) regions in acute civil crisis achieved < 50% (North West and South West). Conclusion: The second national VAS campaign of 2021 achieved an average administrative coverage of approximately 84%. This coverage is impressive in the context of COVID-19, although further efforts are needed to improve coverage in the country's highly insecure areas.