Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:
(a) whether 65 per cent women in the country are suffering from anaemia and if so, the details thereof;
(b) the various steps taken by the Government for prevention of the said ailment;
(c) the extent of success achieved by the Government in controlling anaemia as a result of the said efforts along with the reaction of the Government thereto; and
(d) the corrective measures taken by the Government in this regard?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI JAGAT PRAKASH NADDA)
(a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO. 252* FOR 3RD AUGUST, 2018
(a) According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) 2015-16, the prevalence of anaemia among women aged 15-49 years is 53.0%. State/UT wise prevalence is Annexed.
(b) The Government of India has been addressing the problem of anaemia, through National Nutritional Anaemia Control Programme and more recently by adopting a life cycle approach under the National Iron Plus Initiative (NIPI). The interventions under NIPI include age-appropriate preventive strategy of Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation for under five children (6 months- 5 yrs), children 6 -10 yrs, adolescents, pregnant women, and lactating mothers, as well as a treatment protocol for facility-based management of anaemia. Apart from NIPI, there are other programmes which address causes of anaemia other than iron deficiency, such as National Deworming Day (NDD) for deworming, National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) for prevention and control of malaria, special efforts to reach out to populations affected with hemoglobinopathies and National Programme for Prevention and Control of Fluorosis (NPPCF).
(c) There has been a decrease in anaemia prevalence in the different target beneficiary groups over the last decade, between NFHS 3 (2005-06) and NFHS 4 (2015-16). Anaemia prevalence has reduced from 69.4% to 58.5% among children less than 5 years of age, 55.3% to 53.0% in women aged 15-49 years and 57.9% to 50.3% in pregnant women.
(d) The Government has recently released the “Anaemia Mukt Bharat” guidelines as a comprehensive strategy for prevention and control of anaemia, with a multi-pronged approach and a more robust operational and accountability framework.
The strategy builds on the existing programme and also includes newer initiatives, such as:
• Better techniques for diagnosis and management of anaemia
• Strengthening of supply chain management
• Better convergence for effective implementation
• Increased focus on research needs around anaemia