70% adolescents in state anaemic in the absence of iron supplementation Undeterred by the resistance to administration of iron and folic acid tablets to students of government schools in Haryana, the Union Health Ministry, committed to pushing its anti-anaemia agenda, is all set to roll out a National Iron+ Initiative to cover women of all age groups. “The National Family Health Survey-3 (NFHS-3) data suggests that anaemia is widely prevalent among all age groups. Nearly 58 per cent of pregnant women, 50 per cent of the women in the reproductive age group, 56 per cent adolescent girls (15-19 years), 30 per cent adolescent boys and around 80 per cent under-three years children have anaemia,” says Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Rural Health Mission, Anuradha Gupta. In a scenario where 20 to 40 per cent maternal deaths are due to anaemia, the ministry will soon launch its Iron+ Initiative to tackle anaemia among women in the reproductive age group. “There is no other way to tackle iron-deficiency other than the supplementation programme. We have worked out the modalities of administration of the iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation for each target segment. The programme will be launched very soon,” Gupta said. Also the brain behind the IFA programme for adolescents going to government schools, she said, “It is underway in 28 states of the country. Though it began as a pilot project in some districts, the results of the weekly supplementation were remarkable. The drop in anaemia levels was as high as 50 per cent in some districts over a year. With these results as our base, we gradually launched it in other states as well.” Presently, the programme covers 2.87 crore adolescent children of which 44 lakh are in West Bengal, 34 lakh in Karnataka, 24 lakh in Maharashtra, 16 lakh in Haryana, 18 lakh in Delhi and two lakh in Punjab among others. While the programme has proceeded smoothly in most states, including Punjab, it has run into rough weather following a large number of children falling ill. “We have received reports of children suffering from the anticipated side-effects of nausea and stomach ache and vomiting in some cases from Haryan, Delhi and Maharashtra’s Sholapur district. In Haryana, 1,100 of 16 lakh children fell ill while 200 of 18 lakh kids were taken ill in Delhi and 150 of 24 lakh in Maharashtra. Since iron is known to cause gastric discomfort, the number is well within the expected 5 per cent ‘reaction’ range. It takes five to seven weeks for the body to adjust to the IFA supplementation,” she explains. Referring particularly to Haryana, Gupta said the NFHS survey found that nearly 70 per cent adolescents were anaemic, which is higher than the national average. “We have asked the state government to carry out an exhaustive campaign to make people understand the need for such supplementation. We don’t want it to be a forced programme. We want the parents to understand the concern behind the initiative and support it. The children are being administered the tablet with an enteric coating to minimise the side-effects though the manner in which it is administered is of vital importance,” Gupta added. Vulnerable Section Nearly 58 per cent pregnant women 50 per cent women in reproductive age group 56 per cent adolescent girls (15 to 19 years) 30 per cent adolescent boys Around 80 per cent under-three years children 20 to 40 per cent maternal deaths due to anaemia