Contacts: 0721 911 790 ; edwinosenogudu@gmail.com Burden of anaemia among children aged 6 - 59 months at Alupe Sub-County Hospital Busia, Kenya in 2015 – 2016 Gudu.E.1, Kiilu C.2, Omballa V.3 1 Alupe Sub County-Hospital, 2Moi University 3KEMRI-Center for Global Health Research Background Results Anaemia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children aged 6-59 months. World Health Organization (WHO) states that it is a problem of global health concern that affects persons both in developing and developed countries. We conducted a study to characterize the disease burden of anaemia in children aged 6 - 59 months. Of the 497 participants, 50.3% (250/497) were female The mean haemoglobin level was 8.9g/dl (SD 2.5; 95% CI 8.7 – 9.1) Majority of the children had anaemia (79.9% (397/497); 95% CI 76.1 – 83.2) Males were more likely to have anaemia (OR 1.30; 95% CI 0.83, 2.03; p 0.25) Among those with anaemia: Moderate anaemia - 52% (207/397) Severe anaemia - 28% (111/397) mild anaemia - 20% (78/397) Microcytic, hypochromic anaemia accounted for 71% (75/106) Children with normocytic normochromic blood indices accounted for 8% (8/106) MCH MCV Hyperchromic Hypochromic Normochromic Total Macrocytic 1% 0% Microcytic 71% 6% 77% Normocytic 13% 8% 22% 3% 84% 100% Methods Study Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study Study site: Alupe sub-county Hospital, Busia County Study period: May 2015 - July 2016 Check Haemoglobin and Full haemogram laboratory records were reviewed. Anemia was classified based on severity and red blood cell indices and the level of severity of anaemia was based on World Health Organization (WHO) classification. The necessary haemoglobin (Hb) level adjustments for altitude (1,200m above sea level) were made as recommended by WHO. Data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel® 2013 and Openepi® software. Table 2: Distribution of participants based on MCV and MCH Conclusion Classification Female Male < 7 g/dl (Severe) n = 115 48% 52% 7.0 - 9.9 g/dl (Moderate) n=196 49% 51% 10-10.9 g/dl (Mild) n=90 ≥ 11 g/dl (No anaemia) n=96 56% 44%  Total n=497 50.3% 49.7% The level of public health significance of anaemia is severe among the children in this age group with males more affected than females Microcytic hypochromic anemia is the leading type of anemia Studies on underlying factors in this population are necessary to advice on appropriate interventional strategies Table 1: Distribution of participants based on presence or absence of anaemia Contacts: 0721 911 790 ; edwinosenogudu@gmail.com