Lok Sabha Question No. 176 (STARRED), answered on 2019-11-29
Subject: Anaemia among Women and Children
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Kirron  Kher

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO .176 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 29 TH NOVEMBER , 2019 ANAEMIA AMONG WOMEN AND CHILDREN

## *176. SHRIMATI KIRRON KHER:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether about half of women and children in India are anaemic and if s details thereof, urban and rural area - wise under the categories of mildly anaemic, moderately anaemic and severely anaemic;
- (b) whether the Government has formulated any schemes to address this issue if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to reduce anaemia among children throug mid-day meals and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) the other steps taken by the Government to reduce anaemia among women an children?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

(a) to ( d):  A statement is laid on the Table of the House

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 176* FOR 29 TH NOVEMBER , 2019

- (a) A s  per  National  Family  Health  Survey (NFHS) - IV  (2015 - 16) , 58.5  %  of children ( 6- 59  months ) and 53 .1 %  women  (15- 49  years)  are anaemic in the country . The details of anaemic women and children both in urban and rural areas at the National level under the categories of mild, moderate and severe is annexed.
- (b) I n 2018 ,Government of India has launched the Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) Strategy under POSHAN Abhiyaan with the aim to reduce anemia prevalence by 3 percentage points every year till 2022. The AMB is a 6x6x6 strategy is  targeting  six  age  group s,  with  six  inter ventions  and  six  institutional mechanisms and these are as follows:
1. Six target age groups:
- Pre - school children (6 - 59 months)
- C hildren (5 - 9 years)
- A dolescents girls (10 - 19 years)
- A dolescent boys (10 - 19 years)
- W omen of reproductive age group (15 - 49)
- Preg nant women and lactating mothers

## 2. Six interventions :

- Prophylactic I ron Folic Acid Supplementation
- Periodic deworming
- I ntensified  year - round  Behaviour  Change  Communication  Campaign including delayed cord clamping
- Testing  and  Treatment  of  anemia  using  digi tal  methods  and  point  of care t reatment
- M andatory provision of Iron Folic Acid fortified foods i n public health programmes
- Addressing non - nutritional causes of anemia in endemic pockets, with special focus on malaria, hemoglobinopathies and fluorosis.
3. Six robust institutional mechanisms re:
- Intra - ministerial coordination
- National Anemia Mukt Bharat Unit
- National  Center  of  Excellence  and  Advanced  Research  on  Anemia Control
- Convergence with other ministries
- Strengthening supply chain and logistics
- Anemi a Mukt Bharat Dashboard and Digital portal -one- stop - shop for Anemia
- (c) Under mid- day meal scheme, with the view to improve nutrition level amon children, every child in government and government aided primary school provided with a cooked meal having a minimum of 300 calories of energy and 8- 12 grams protein per day for a minimum of 200 days and children in upp primary  school  (i.e.  class  VI  to  VII)  are  provided  with  700  calories  a grams of protein. Under An emia Mukt Bharat strategy, weekly Iron Fo lic Acid supplementation is provided to in - school adolescent girls and boys. The tablets are administered one hour after the mid - day meals under the supervision of the school teachers.
- (d) The Government of India is promoting appropriate Infant Young Child Feedin (IYCF) practices with  special focus on adequate  and age appropria complementary  feeding  practices  along  with Iron  and  Folic  Acid  ( IFA) supplementation in the under - five children dur ing 6 - 59 months of age through variousprogrammes  under  M inistry  of W omen  and C hildD evelopmentand M inistry  of H ealth  and Family W elfare .  The se programmes  are  Mother's Absolute  Affection,  Home  Based  Young  Child  Care  and  I ntegrated C hild D evelopment Ser vicesunder  Ministry  of W omen  and C hildD evelopment . Under Rashtriya B alSwasthya K aryakram programme, children (0 - 18  years) are being screened for anaemia -twice a year at Anganwadi Centre and once a yearinschools .

Table  1.Prevalence  ofdifferent  types  of  anemia  among  Children  (6 - 59 months) in India as per NFHS - IV (2015- 16)

|                            |   Rural |   Urban |   Total |
|----------------------------|---------|---------|---------|
| Mild (10.0 - 10.9 gm/dl)   |    28.2 |    26.8 |    27.8 |
| Moderate (7.0 - 9.9 gm/dl) |    29.8 |    27.5 |    29.2 |
| Severe (<7.00 gm/dl)       |     1.5 |     1.6 |     1.6 |
| Any (<11.00 gm/dl)         |    59.5 |    56   |    58.5 |

Table 2. Prevalence of different types of anemia among women (15 - 49 years) in India as per NFHS - IV (2015- 16)

|                            |   Rural |   Urban |   Total |
|----------------------------|---------|---------|---------|
| Mild (10.0 - 11.9 gm/dl)   |    40.3 |    38.3 |    39.6 |
| Moderate (7.0 - 9.9 gm/dl) |    12.8 |    11.6 |    12.4 |
| Severe (<7.00 gm/dl)       |     1.1 |     0.9 |     1   |
| Any (<12.00 gm/dl)         |    54.2 |    50.8 |    53.1 |