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Immunization coverage in three districts of North West Frontier Province (NWFP)
N Ahmad1, T Akhtar, M T Roghani
1PMRC Health Services Research Centre, PGMI, Peshawar.
Insights
Despite over 20 years of efforts, the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in Pakistan
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) aims to increase vaccination coverage.
- Assessing EPI progress is crucial for child health in developing nations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the progress of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Pakistan.
- Identify barriers to achieving optimal immunization coverage.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional survey was conducted in NWFP, Pakistan.
- 120 clusters and 2583 families were randomly selected.
- 2673 children aged 12-35 months were included in the study.
Main Results:
- Only 65% of children were fully immunized, with less than half verifiable.
- Key barriers included missed doses, lack of faith in vaccines, parental time constraints, vaccinator absence, and inconvenient locations.
- These factors significantly hindered the immunization program's success.
Conclusions:
- The EPI has not achieved its ultimate objectives despite extensive efforts.
- Targeted interventions are needed to improve immunization coverage and address identified barriers.
- The study highlights areas for improvement to reach national immunization goals.
Aim:
This community-based study was conducted to assess the progress of Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan.
Method:
In this cross sectional survey, 120 randomly selected clusters in 03 districts of NWFP were included, 2673 children in the age group 12-35 months of 2583 randomly selected families were visited.
Results:
The results showed that 65% of children were fully immunized, but out of them only half could be verified by immunization, need of 2nd and 3rd dose and no faith in immunization were the major causes of failure of immunization programme. Moreover, mother too busy, absence of vaccinator and inconvenient place of immunization were the obstacles pointed out by the parents.
Conclusion:
This study suggests the areas where improvement can be made to achieve the real target of immunization coverage. It is concluded that despite of more than 20 years of efforts by EPI, the ultimate objectives have not been achieved.