ANEMIA (noun. /əˈniːmɪə/), per Oxford Languages, means a condition in which there is a deficiency of red cells or of haemoglobin in the blood, resulting in pallor and weariness.
India is facing the challenge of high prevalence of Anemia, but a comprehensive strategy to tackle the issue has been missing. Technical guidelines for control of Iron Deficiency Anemia in children, pregnant women and lactating mothers were in place but the operational mechanisms for implementation are needed.
Anemia impairs cognitive and motor development among children, increases their susceptibility to illness, and in adults reduces work capacity and productivity. In pregnancy, this contributes to high maternal and neo-natal mortality and morbidity, obstetrical risks, impairment of fatal development and low birth weight.
Despite the countries continuous efforts for last 50 years, the recent data per National Family Health Survey – 5 (NFHS) shows that Anemia affects in the country,
| ANEMIA AMONG CHILDREN AND ADULTS* (Per NFHS-5) | URBAN (%) | RURAL (%) | TOTAL (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children age 6-59 months (< 11.0 g/dl) Non-pregnant women age 15-49 years (12.0 g/dl) Pregnant women age 15-49 years (< 11.0 g/dl) All women age 15-49 years All women age 15-19 years Men age 15-49 years (< 13.0 g/dl) Men age 15-19 years (< 13.0 g/dl) | 64.2 54.1 45.7 53.8 56.5 20.4 25.0 | 68.3 58.7 54.3 58.5 60.2 27.4 33.9 | 67.1 57.2 52.2 57.0 59.1 25.0 31.1 |
*Haemoglobin in grams per decilitre (g/dl). Among children, prevalence is adjusted for altitude. Among adults, prevalence is adjusted for altitude and for smoking status, if known. As NFHS uses the capillary blood for estimation of anemia, the results of NFHS-5 need not to be compared with other surveys using venous blood.
Further analysis shows considerably high disparity of Anemia prevalence among rural and urban areas, where disadvantaged groups (particularly scheduled tribes), children and women in households in the lower wealth quintiles have higher prevalence of Anemia.
India’s National Health Policy (2017) recognizes Anemia as a deterrent to maternal and child survival and overall productivity of the nation. The policy also emphasizes on a need for intensifying efforts to address all causes of Anemia for accelerating decline in Anemia prevalence, in a mission mode using a unified multi-pronged strategy rather than multiple programmes. At the same time, Government of India has also made a commitment to Global World Health Assembly target of 50% reduction of Anemia among women of reproductive age by 2025 and the POSHAN Abhiyan (2018-2020), ambitious target to reduce prevalence of Anemia among children 6-59 months, adolescents, and women of reproductive age 15-49 years by 3 percentage points per year.
In view of the above mentioned national and global commitments, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has developed the Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) programme providing preventive and curative mechanisms through a 6x6x6 strategy including six target beneficiaries, six interventions, and six institutional mechanisms, for all stakeholders to implement the strategy. The strategy also talks about newer initiatives such as use of advanced methods of haemoglobin estimates using digital haemoglobinometers and point of care management of Anemia among in-school adolescents, and pregnant women.
The Anemia Mukt Bharat programme has been designed to monitoring, evaluate, and analysis the causes of prevalence of Anemia in India. The test, treat, and talk (T3) initiative of AMB has so far been successful in bringing out the people to understand that the seriousness of this medical condition, Anemia. The constant effort at the ground-level, viz., sub-district (block) level has been impressive by the Asha workers of the Anganwadi. The daily challenges among individual patients they deal highly appreciative. We all face defiance and yet, we have to contribute to win this battle of Anemia.
Source: https://anemiamuktbharat.info/
Organization: Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi, India (https://iegindia.org/)
P.S – The author was a Research Assistant on UNICEF’s Anemia Mukt Bharat project at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi, India.
This post has been reviewed and reposted at Click Here.
Naman Jain 