Children 6-59 months receiving vitamin A supplements

What do these indicators tell us?

These indicators tell us what proportion of children aged 6-59 months received a dose of vitamin A through the main distribution mechanism during the first semester (January-June) and what proportion of children received a dose during the second semester (July-December). Vitamin A supplementation coverage is included in the WHO Global reference list of 100 core health indicators.

How are they defined?

These indicators are defined as the proportion of children aged 6-59 months who receive a first and/or a second high dose of vitamin A supplements within a calendar year. The two-dose coverage can be determined by the semester that achieved the lower vitamin A supplementation coverage for children aged 6-59 months in the calendar year.

Current international recommendations call for high-dose vitamin A supplementation every 4-6 months for all children between the ages of 6 and 59 months living in affected areas. The recommended doses are 100 000 international units (IU) for children aged between 6 and 11 months, and 200 000 IU for children aged between 12 and 59 months.

What are the consequences and implications?

Programmes to control vitamin A deficiency increase children's chances of survival, reduce the severity of childhood illnesses, ease the strain on health systems and hospitals, and contribute to the well-being of children, their families and communities.

Vitamin A is vital to child health and immune function; hence, in settings where vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem, vitamin A supplementation is recommended in infants and children aged 6-59 months as a public health intervention to reduce child morbidity and mortality. Measuring the proportion of children who have received two doses of vitamin A within the past year can be used to monitor coverage of interventions aimed at increasing child survival rates. Supplementation with vitamin A is a safe, cost-effective and efficient means for eliminating deficiency of this vitamin and improving child survival.

Source of data

UNICEF data: monitoring the situation of children and women. Vitamin A deficiency (https://data.unicef.org/topic/nutrition/vitamin-a-deficiency/).

Further reading

WHO. Global reference list of 100 core health indicators (plus health-related SDGs). Geneva: World Health Organization; 2018 (https://www.who.int/healthinfo/indicators/2018/en/).

Internet resources

WHO. Vitamin A deficiency list of publications. (http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/micronutrients/vitamin_a_deficiency/en/).

WHO. Immunization, vaccines and biologicals. Vitamin A supplementation (http://www.who.int/immunization/programmes_systems/interventions/vitamin_A/en/).

WHO. e-Library of Evidence for Nutrition Actions (eLENA). Vitamin A supplementation in infants and children 6-59 months of age. (http://www.who.int/elena/titles/vitamina_children/en/).