Peer-reviewed article
Immunisation coverage in Ethiopia: findings from the recent national immunisation survey
Berhanu Fikadie Endehabtu, Getasew Amare, Yohannes Ayanaw, Bikes Destaw, Amare Tariku et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This national survey assessed vaccination coverage across all regions and city administrations of Ethiopia between March and July 2023. It included about 13,666 children aged 12-35 months, 5,338 adolescent girls and 13,843 adults. Full immunisation coverage among children was 43.9%, and 24.7% of children had received no vaccines at all (zero-dose). Tetanus-diphtheria uptake among mothers started high but fell by later doses, and HPV vaccine coverage among adolescent girls was low for the second dose. The authors conclude that coverage remains below national and global targets and that both demand and supply barriers need attention.
Key points
- Full immunisation coverage was 43.9% and zero-dose children accounted for 24.7%.
- About three-fourths of children aged 12-23 months received the first pentavalent dose and two-thirds received the third dose.
- Dropout rates were 14.1% for pentavalent and 19.9% for measles vaccines.
- About 85% of mothers received the first tetanus-diphtheria dose, but uptake dropped significantly by the fourth and fifth doses.
- Half of adolescent girls received a first HPV dose and a quarter received a second dose.
Limitations
This is a descriptive cross-sectional survey, so it cannot explain why coverage is low or show what would improve it. Vaccination status was partly based on caregiver recall, and the abstract gives no detail on the barriers.
Abstract
Background Though Ethiopia has achieved remarkable progress in immunisation services, there is limited evidence on comprehensive national immunisation coverage. Therefore, this national study evaluated the performance of life-course immunisation services. Methods This study was conducted in all Ethiopian regions and city administrations from March to July 2023. Two-stage stratified cluster sampling was used. About 13666 children aged 12-35 months, 5338 adolescent girls (15–18) and 13843 adults aged 12 years or more were included in the study. Child vaccination status was assessed through reviewing immunisation cards/health facility registration books/caregivers’ recall. A descriptive analysis was done with an adjusted sampling weight. Results Three-fourths of children aged 12-23 months received the first dose of the pentavalent vaccine, and two-thirds received the third dose of the Pentavalent Vaccine. About two-thirds and half of the children received the first and second doses of the Measles vaccine, respectively. The dropout rates for Pentavalent was 14.1% and for Measles, was 19.9%. Full immunisation coverage was 43.9%, and zero-dose children accounted for 24.7%. About 85% of mothers received the first dose of the Tetanus-Diphtheria vaccine. Half of adolescent girls received their first vaccination, and a quarter of them received a second dose of the HPV vaccine. Conclusions Although Ethiopia has made strides in child immunisation, coverage remains below national and global targets. Tetanus-diphtheria vaccine uptake was initially high but dropped significantly by the fourth and fifth doses. HPV vaccine coverage was suboptimal, with most not receiving the second or booster doses. Strengthening national efforts to address both demand and supply barriers is vital for increasing vaccine uptake.