National Coverage of Wheat Flour and Oil Staples among Women of Reproductive Age (WRA) and Young Children in Senegal

Abstract

Objectives: To assess fortification coverage of wheat flour and oil staples among WRA and young children in Senegal. Methods: We completed a nationally representative cross-sectional, cluster survey using the fortification assessment and coverage tool (FACT) developed by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). The target sample size was 1,946 completed caregiver survey respondents with children up to 2-years of age. The sample was taken from 80 primary sampling units (PSUs) divided into four strata that are considered representative of the diverse ecological and agricultural living conditions and food consumption patterns of the population, with an oversampling of households from poor rural regions of the country. Results: We are reporting preliminary unweighted results which were available at the time of abstract submission for n = 1912 WRA/child pairs. Contact coverage at the household level, defined as the presence of vehicle in the home within the previous week, was 33.9 % and 90.8 % for wheat flour and oil respectively. Contact coverage at the individual level, defined as consuming > 1 product made from a fortifiable vehicle within the previous week, was 87.9 % and 59.1 % in WRA and children respectively for flour; and 97.2 % and 63.7 % in WRA and children respectively for oil. Conclusions: Contact coverage is high for wheat flour and oil respectively among WRA and children in Senegal. Further analyses of the dataset will assess adequacy of fortification, consumption, and effective coverage by risk categories of poverty.