Letter to the Editor

Indian Pediatrics 1999; 36:619

Need for Strengthening Immunization Services in Villages

Child health care is the most crucial factor determining the growth of the child, especially in the first two years of life. We report here a comparative study of child health care practices in subcenter and nonsubcenter villages. A total of 500 children (below 2 years of age) were selected randomly from 25 subcenter and 25 nonsubcenters villages. Their parents were inquired about child health care given to the children right from their birth.

The data obtained from the survey revealed a non significant differences in subcenter and nonsubcenter villages regarding the child health care practices followed: 7.2% vs. 6.4% institutional deliveries; 16.0% vs 11.2% deliveries by trained health personnel; 9.6% vs 6.4% children with birth weight recording. 23.2% vs 17.2% children with breastfeeding initiation in first hour; 45.6% vs 39.6% children were receiving or had received exclusive breast feeding; and 27.2% and 24.0% children had started or were about to start complementary feeding at correct time (4-6 months). However, regarding immunization status in children of 1-2 years of age, only 22.8% children were completely immunized with a significantly higher (p <0.001) coverage in subcenter. village (26.8%) in comparison to the nonsubcenter village (18.6%).

The proportion of children with no vaccinations were 33.3% in subcenter and 58.9% in non subcenter villages (p <0.001). However in previous years, Uttar Pradesh survey report depicts 20.0% of the children as completely immunized and 43.0% children as unimmunized(1). There is, therefore, a strong need to improve immunization services in villages, giving priority to the nonsubcenter and remote villages. Attention to provision of better immunization facilities, is likely to improve the child survival in rural areas.
 

Seema Jain,
H. Chopra,
J.V. Singh,
M. Bhatnagar,
S.K. Garg,
Department of Community Medicine,
L.L.R.M. Medical College,
Meerut 250001, lndia.
 

1. National Family Health Survey, Uttar Pradesh ] 992-93. Summary report. Population Re- search Center, Lucknow. Indian Institute of Population Sciences, Mumbai, 1994; pp 16-23.