Background: In May 2012, the twice-yearly Maternal and Child Health Week (MCHW) integrated vitamin A supplementation
(VAS) and supplementary measles vaccination to reach all children 6–59 months in Sierra Leone.
Following the MCHW, a post event coverage survey was conducted to validate VAS coverage and assess
adverse events following immunization.
Methods: Using the WHO Expanded Program on Immunization sampling methodology, 30 clusters were randomly
selected using population proportionate to size sampling. Fourteen caregivers of children 6–59 months
were interviewed per cluster for precision of+5%. Responses were collected via mobile phones using EpiSurveyor.
Results: Overall VAS and measles coverage was 91.9% and 91.6%, respectively, with no significant differences by
age group, sex, religion or occupation. Major reasons given for not receiving VAS and measles vaccination were
not knowing about the MCHW or being out of the area. Significantly more mild adverse events (fever, pain at
injection site) were reported via the post event coverage survey (29.1%) than MCHW (0.01%) (p,0.0001).
Conclusion: The MCHW reached .90% of children in Sierra Leone with equitable coverage. Increased reporting of
mild adverse events during the survey may be attributed to delayed onset after measles vaccination and/or direct
inquiry from enumerators. Even mild adverse events following immunization requires strengthened reporting
during and after vaccination campaigns.