Joint improvement in birth registration on civil status and immunization coverage of infants aged 0-23 months: the added value of community tool use in collaboration between town halls and the health district in Goudomp, Senegal

Abstract

Objectives

Given the importance of immunization, establishing an innovative strategy through a community tool, “infant monitoring booklet (IMB),” seemed necessary in Goudomp to improve immunization coverage and birth registration for infants aged 0-23 months.

Methods

A before-and-after evaluative study of the strategy, co-created and jointly implemented by town halls and health district actors and community health workers, was conducted in Goudomp. Sampling was exhaustive, taking into account all filled IMBs available. Data collection was performed using the District Health Information System 2 platform with a locally structured closed template configured on Excel 2010 software.

Results

The availability of IMBs in Goudomp's villages/neighborhoods was 83%, of which 99.5% were up to date, enabling the enrollment of 3949 infants, 77% of whom were up to date on the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). Of these, 76% had been fully vaccinated. Indeed, before using IMB, only 56% of the EPI antigens achieved at least 90% coverage, whereas it reached 100% after implementation of the IMB strategy. The latter also allowed 1351 infants, representing 44% of EPI-monitored infants, to be referred to town halls for birth registration. Finally, 53% of Goudomp's town halls registered more births after IMB's strategy implementation than before owing to IMB use.

Conclusions

IMB jointly met Senegal's EPI and birth registration requirements.