|
(Tetanus Toxoid Campaign)
|
| |
| Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in Uttar
Pradesh is 85 per thousand live births. Of this, about
40% is estimated to be due to neo-natal tetanus. As per
figures available from the Central Bureau of Health Investigations,
UP contributes 21% of the total neo-natal deaths in India.
The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is also high in UP
at about 5 per thousand births. The idea of conducting
a Tetanus Toxoid (TT) Campaign to immunize pregnant women
was mooted by SIFPSA in 1999 and adopted by the Government
of Uttar Pradesh. It was to form the cornerstone of an
accelerated strategy for reducing infant mortality in
UP. |
| |
| The first tetanus toxoid immunization
campaign was conducted in two phases in May and June,
1999 and the second in April and May, 2000. These campaigns
were independently evaluated by Population Resource Centre
(PRC), Lucknow and ORG Centre for Social Research, Delhi
respectively. |
| |
| The main objectives of the evaluation
survey were: |
| |
 |
To determine awareness
about the need for TT vaccination |
|
|
To examine the impact
of TT campaign in the state |
|
| |
| The study was carried out in ten districts
of the state randomly selected, of which five districts
were SIFPSA NGO districts. |
| |
| By following the WHO 30 cluster sampling
system, a total of 2109 eligible women (pregnant for 5
or more months or who had delivered a child after completion
of current year’s TT campaign) were covered from 300 rural
and urban clusters of the 10 selected districts. |
| |
| Evaluation findings of the two campaigns
showed some striking results. The proportion of currently
pregnant women, who received two doses of TT, increased
by 20 percentage points (from 13% to 33%) during the first
campaign conducted in the year 1999. The same indicator
increased to 59 percentage points in the second campaign
in the year 2000. The findings also showed that the coverage
in NGO project areas was 7 percentage points more than
that in others. |
| |
| In SIFPSA NGO districts awareness levels
were higher at 47 percent, compared to only 11 percent
in other districts. Most of the women in these districts
got information about the TT campaign from NGOs. Nearly
one-third of these women were visited at home by the CBD
workers. IEC material was provided by the CBD worker and
a significantly higher proportion of women in these districts
(33 percent) than in non SIFPSA districts (7 percent)
were aware about the exact dates and place of immunization.
|
