Palestinian Family Survey 2010 Final Report - Palestinian Central ...

PCBS: Palestinian Family Survey, 2010Overall, 91 percent of children had health cards, of which 83 percent were seen. If the child did not have a card, themother was asked to recall whether or not the child had received each of the vaccinations and, for DPT and Polio,how many times. The percentage of children age 12 to 23 months who received each of the vaccinations is shown inTable CH.1. The denominator for the table is comprised of children age 12-23 months so that only children who are oldenough to be fully vaccinated are counted. In the top panel, the numerator includes all children who were vaccinatedat any time before the survey according to the vaccination card or the mother’s report. In the bottom panel, only thosewho were vaccinated before their first birthday, as recommended, are included. For children without vaccination cards,the proportion of vaccinations given before the first birthday is assumed to be the same as for children with vaccinationcards.Approximately 98 percent of children age 12-23 months received a BCG vaccination by the age of 12 months and thefirst dose of DPT was given to 95 percent. The percentage declines for subsequent doses of DPT to 94 percent for thesecond dose, and 91 percent for the third dose (Figure CH.1). Similarly, 96 percent of children received Polio 1 by age 12months and this declines to 91 percent by the third dose. The coverage for measles vaccine by 12 months is lower thanfor the other vaccines at 88 percent. This is primarily because, although 93 percent of children received the vaccine,only 88 percent received it by their first birthday. As a result, the percentage of children who had all the recommendedvaccinations by their first birthday is considerably low with 68 percent.Figure CH.1: Vaccinations in first year of lifePercentage of children aged 12-23 months who received the recommended doses of vaccines by 12 months age,State of Palestine, 201050Table CH.2 shows vaccination coverage rates among children 12-23 months by background characteristics. The figuresindicate children receiving the vaccinations at any time up to the date of the survey, and are based on information fromboth the vaccination cards and mothers’/caretakers’ reports.The results indicate that vaccine coverage in general is better in Gaza Strip than it is in the West Bank for all antigens.This is due to the active work of UNRWA which is responsible for health care and providing vaccination services forchildren in the Gaza Strip as the majority of refugee population is concentrated there. The important role of the PalestinianMinistry of Health is also a factor as it provides health services to all Palestinians whether they are refugees orresidents.No significant differences in vaccination coverage were noted based on sex and wealth quintiles. At the governoratelevel marked differences were noted with Jerusalem children being the least advantaged in receiving all vaccinationtypes compared to all other governorates; for example the percentage coverage of BCG vaccine was 85 percent in Jerusalemwhile the same ranged between 96-100 percent in other governorates. Also the third dose of Polio vaccine inJerusalem marked 76 percent while it ranged between 84 and 98 percent in other governorates. Similar patterns wereobserved for the other vaccinations in Jerusalem when compared to other governorates.