TITLE:
Contributions of the Measles Follow-Up Vaccination Campaign to Improving the Vaccination Coverage of Children Aged 6 - 59 Months in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2019
AUTHORS:
Lamidhi Salami, Yolaine Glele-Ahanhanzo, Marcellin Mengouo Nimpa, Charles Jerome Sossa, Maria Carolina Danovaro-Holliday, Julien Saleh, Moïse Désiré Yapi, John Samuel Tonda Epenge Otomba, Elisabeth Musenga Mukamba, Charles Patrick Makoutode, Edgard-Marius Ouendo
KEYWORDS:
Measles, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Child under 59 Months, Vaccination Campaign
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Epidemiology,
Vol.13 No.3,
July
3,
2023
ABSTRACT: Background: In accordance with its measles elimination strategic plan
2012-2020, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) organized a follow-up vaccination campaign against measles from October to December
2019 in 26 provinces. This study aims to establish the contribution of this
supplementary vaccination campaign to protecting children against measles. Methods: The survey was carried out in November 2020 among households
of the DRC, according to the 2018 revised version of the World Health Organization’s
stratified cluster sampling method, using multiple stage sampling.
It targeted 280 children aged 6 - 59 months per stratum or province,
with 10 children in each of the 28 selected clusters. Data collection using tablets
with centralized and real-time data processing was preceded by enumeration
to refine the household sampling frame. Clusters and households were
selected by random draw. Data collected with CS Pro 7 software were analyzed
with SPSS, Epi info 7 and Excel software to determine indicators and
make before-after comparisons using the McNemar test, at a precision threshold
of 5%. Results: Of the 8535 surveyed children, 89.5% were vaccinatedduring the follow-up campaign and 81.6% were vaccinated before. Only 3.7%
had correctly completed campaign vaccination cards. Estimated vaccination
coverage increased from 80.8% before the campaign to 92.6% after the campaign
(p 0.001). Vaccination coverage after campaign against measles improved
in all provinces (p 0.001), and even fell below 1% in
six provinces. Conclusion: This measles vaccination campaign improved overall
vaccination coverage by 10% and reached more unvaccinated children. Efforts
must continue to improve the retention of vaccination card, the adherence
of unvaccinated children and the effectiveness of routine vaccination.