(a) whether the cases of anaemia and malnutrition have been found to be high among
young mothers in rural areas as compared to urban mothers across the country;
(b) if so, whether women welfare schemes not reaching the country- side;
(c) if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the action taken by the Government in this regard?
THE MINISTER OF STATE OF THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI KRISHNA TIRATH)
(a) & (d): As per National Family Health Survey-3, 2005-06, prevalence of anaemia and chronic
energy deficiency (measured as low Body Mass Index) in women aged 15-19 years is 55.8% and 46.8%
respectively while it is 56.2% and 35.6% in women aged 15-49 years.
In urban and rural areas, anaemia in women (age 15-49 years) is 50.9% and 57.4% respectively
while prevalence of chronic energy deficiency is 25.0% and 40.6% respectively.
The problem of malnutrition including anemia is multi-dimensional and inter-generational in nature,
the determinants of which include household food insecurity, illiteracy and lack of awareness
especially in women, access to health services, availability of safe drinking water, sanitation
and proper environmental conditions and adequate purchasing power etc. The nutritional status of
the population is the outcome of complex and inter-related set of factors and cannot be improved
by the efforts of single sector or action alone.
Under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the Reproductive & Child Health Programme (RCH) - II
provides effective maternal and child health care interventions which include: Antenatal, intranatal
and postnatal care including Iron and Folic Acid supplementation to pregnant & lactating women for
prevention and treatment of anemia ; Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), a cash benefit scheme with a
special focus on Below Poverty Line (BPL) and SC/ST pregnant women ; Mother and Child Protection
Card in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Child Development to monitor service delivery
for mothers and children ; Village Health and Nutrition Days for provision of maternal and child
health services and providing health and nutrition education ; a new initiative namely Janani
Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) which entitles all pregnant women delivering in public health
institutions to absolutely free and no expense delivery including Caesarean section.
The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme provides a package of six services namely
supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition & health education, immunization,
health check-up and referral services for women and children. The scheme has been universalized with
greater focus on minority segments of the population. There has also been revision in the financial,
nutritional and population norms of the scheme. The supplementary nutrition component for pregnant
and lactating mothers provides for Take Home Ration to give 600 kcal and 20-25 g protein.
There are several other schemes/ programmes of different Ministries/Departments which, directly or
indirectly, have an impact on the nutritional status. These schemes, interalia, include Rajiv Gandhi
National Drinking Water Mission, Total Sanitation Campaign, Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY),
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS), Targeted Public Distribution
System (TPDS) etc. The recently introduced Rajiv Gandhi Schemes for Empowerment of Adolescent
Girls (RGSEAG), namely SABLA provides a package of services including health and nutrition provision
to adolescent girls in the age group of 11-18 years in 200 districts as a pilot. Another new scheme,
the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) – The CMB Scheme would provide a better enabling
environment for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and lactating mothers and conditional
cash transfer support for providing early & exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of
life on pilot basis in 52 districts initially.
Several of the schemes namely, ICDS, NRHM, Mid Day meal (MDM), Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojna
have been expanded to provide for increased coverage and improved services to the people which would
further improve the nutrition situation. Efforts to improve the various schemes in terms of outreach
and quality are ongoing.