A Review of Vitamin A Supplementation in South Sudan: Successes, Challenges, and Opportunities for the Way Forward

Abstract

Although South Sudan's vitamin A supplementation program has demonstrated success, vitamin A supplementation remains a critical public health need for young children. How can South Sudan best maintain high vitamin A supplementation coverage for the short to medium term while planning a more sustainable delivery approach for the longer term?

Sub-national estimates of vitamin A supplementation coverage in children: a geospatial analysis of 45 low and middle-income countries

“…Political, sociocultural, and environmental factors may also contribute to disparities in VAS coverage, particularly at the sub-national level (Haselow et al 2022, Zegeye et al 2022. For example, our maps point to low VAS coverage in several conflict-affected areas, such as northeastern Nigeria and southwestern Pakistan.…”

“…Nutrition and immunization programs that have been successfully implemented in lowresource and complex settings offer insight into enabling factors. These include strong political commitment and leadership, microplanning at the district or administrative level, sustainable supply of VAS, flexible delivery mechanisms, social mobilization and communication, and training, supervision, and monitoring (Haselow et al 2022, Houston 2003, Rah et al 2014. Additionally, strategies for successfully implementing programs in conflict settings include negotiating secure physical access, engaging local communities, coordinating with other health and humanitarian aid delivery, delivering services at refugee camps and other mass gathering sites, collaborating with military and security personnel, and mobilizing during tranquil periods (Nnadi et al 2017).…”

“…VAS coverage may also be uneven within countries and children living in the most vulnerable communities tend to be disproportionately impacted, further exacerbating inequalities. For instance, children living in rural (vs urban) areas and from poorer families are less likely to receive VAS (Berde et al 2019, Haselow et al 2022, Zegeye et al 2022.…”

Exploring Barriers to Vitamin A Supplementation Uptake and Program Implementation Among Children Aged 6–59 Months in Ethiopia: A Qualitative Approach

“…Thus, developing national and local communication strategies will boost mothers' desire for these essential services for children's health [30]. Implementing alternative VAS delivery strategies, such as community health days, mass campaigns, and offering health education, will boost community coverage and motivation in addition to the regular service delivery [31]. Low promotion of the VAS scheme and the lack of attention provided to the VAS scheme by health professionals were found to be contributors to low VAS coverage.…”