Anaemia has, for long, been recognized as a public health issue in India. To be specific, the first initiative against the disease — the National Anaemia Prophylaxis Programme — was launched as far back as in 1970. Since then, numerous programmes and initiatives for different target groups have followed.
Yet, there are information gaps in our understanding of the disease. Most national analyses have missed out on a significant section of the population: children and adolescents aged 5–14 years. There is little knowledge of the specific kinds of anaemia based on micronutrient deficiencies that affect these age-groups. Filling these gaps is an essential step in reaching the goal of alleviating the disease burden through targeted supplementation programs.
In The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, authors report the results of their study of anaemia in a nationally representative sample of Indian children (aged 1–4 years and 5–9 years) and adolescents (aged 10–19 years) from the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS). This study addresses the knowledge gap regarding the distribution of different types of anaemia in India.
Notably, the prevalence of anaemia in the age group 1-4 years in this study is lower than that found through other national sources. This could be attributed to the use of different methods or fewer participants of this age bracket in the CNNS, a comment piece in The Lancet said, while still acknowledging the study’s implications for eradication programmes for anaemia.
The following infographic discusses these findings and indicates where exactly our efforts need to be directed.
The study concludes:
The National Nutrition Mission (Poshan Abhiyaan) was launched in 2018 to push the existing initiatives for better service delivery, an increased focus on dietary diversity and food fortification, and addressing non-nutritional causes of anaemia in endemic pockets, with a focus on malaria, haemoglobinopathies, and fluorosis, under the Anaemia Mukt Bharat strategy, the authors state.
Poshan Abhiyaan has set a target of reducing anaemia by 3% per year.
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Published: 07 Jul 2020,02:25 PM IST