Lok Sabha Question No. 1765 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-11
Subject: Anemia among Women
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Dayakar Pasunoori, Kavitha Malothu, Venkatesh Netha Borlakunta, Gaddam Ranjith Reddy

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

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1765 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 TH FEBRUARY 2022

## ANEMIA AMONG WOMEN

## 1765:  SHRI PASUNOORI DAYAKAR:

DR. G. RANJITH REDDY:

SHRI VENKATESH NETHA BORLAKUNTA:

SHRIMATI KAVITHA MALOTHU:

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

- a) whether it is true that anemia among women (15-49 years) has gone up from 53 per cent to 57 per cent as per the comparative data reported under National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-IV to NFHS-V;
- b) if so, the reasons for the increase in anemia thereof;
- c) the details of anemic women in the country, State/UT-wise as per NFHS-IV and NFHSV; and
- d) the  details  of  steps  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  address  the problem?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

(a) to (d).

The prevalence of anaemia in women (15-49 years) as per the National Family Health Survey 5 (2019-21) is 57.0 percent and as per NFHS 4 is 53.0 percent. The details of the anemic  women  in  the  country,  State/UT-wise  as  per  NFHS-IV  to  NFHS-V  is  at Annexure.

Health  is  a  State  subject  and  the  primary  responsibility  for  strengthening  health  care services including implementation of national programs lies with the respective State/UT government. However, Government has taken steps to improve the condition of anaemia among  all  identified  groups  in  all  States  and  UTs.  Under  National  Health  Mission (NHM),  Government  provides  financial  and  technical  support  to  States  and  UTs  for implementation of Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) strategy as proposed by the states and UT  in  their  annual  Programme  Implementation  Plans.  Covid-19  pandemic  has  also hampered AMB programme implementation contributing to anaemia prevalence among all the age groups.

The details of the steps taken by the Government to address the problem include:

- i. Prophylactic Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation in all six target age groups
- ii. Intensified  year-round  Behaviour  Change  Communication  (BCC)  Campaign for:(a) improving compliance to Iron Folic Acid supplementation and deworming, (b) enhancing appropriate infant and young child feeding practices, (c) encouraging increase in intake of iron-rich food through diet diversity/quantity/frequency  and/or  fortified  foods  with  focus  on  harnessing locally available resources, and (d) ensuring delayed cord clamping after delivery (by 3 minutes) in health facilities
- iii. Testing  and  treatment  of  anemia,  using  digital  methods  and  point  of  care treatment, with special focus on pregnant women and school-going adolescents
- iv. Addressing  non-nutritional  causes  of  anaemia  in  endemic  pockets  with  special focus on malaria, hemoglobinopathies and fluorosis
- v. Management of severe anaemia in pregnant women undertaken by administration of IV Iron Sucrose/Blood transfusion
- vi. Providing  incentives  to  the  ANM  for  identification  and  follow-up  of  pregnant women with severe anaemia in high priority districts (HPDs)
- vii. Training  and  orientation  of  Medical  Officers  and  front  line-workers  on  newer Maternal Health and Anaemia Mukt Bharat guidelines
- viii. Field level awareness by ASHAs through community mobilization activities and IEC and BCC activities

Measures taken by the Government to make AMB programme more effective are:

- (i) working with other line departments and ministries for strengthening implementation
- (ii) engaging  National  Centre  of  Excellence  and  Advanced  Research  on  Anaemia Control  (NCEAR-A)  at  AIIMS,  Delhi  in  capacity  building  of  health  care providers
- (iii) strengthening supply chain and logistics
- (iv) development  of  AMB  Training  Toolkit  for  capacity  building  of  health  care providers in anaemia management and recent launch of Anaemia Mukt Bharat eTraining Modules to facilitate training of the health care providers through virtual platform  amid  COVID  19  pandemic  which  has  posed  a  challenge  in  capacity building through physical trainings.

Comparative anaemia prevalence in Non-Pregnant Women in 36 States and UTs: NFHS-4 v/s NFHS-5:

| Sl.No.   | State/UT         | Non Pregnant Women 15-49 years who are anaemic (<12.0 g/dl) (%)   | Non Pregnant Women 15-49 years who are anaemic (<12.0 g/dl) (%)   |
|----------|------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sl.No.   | State/UT         | NFHS-5                                                            | NFHS-4                                                            |
|          | India            | 57.2                                                              | 53.2                                                              |
| 1        | A&N              | 57.6                                                              | 65.8                                                              |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh   | 59                                                                | 60.2                                                              |
| 3        | Assam            | 66.4                                                              | 46.1                                                              |
| 4        | Bihar            | 63.6                                                              | 60.4                                                              |
| 5        | DNH&DND          | 62.6                                                              | 73.4                                                              |
| 6        | Goa              | 38.9                                                              | 31.4                                                              |
| 7        | Gujarat          | 65.1                                                              | 55.1                                                              |
| 8        | Himachal Pradesh | 53.4                                                              | 53.6                                                              |
| 9        | Jammu &Kashmir   | 67.3                                                              | 49                                                                |
| 10       | Karnataka        | 47.8                                                              | 44.8                                                              |
| 11       | Kerala           | 36.5                                                              | 34.7                                                              |
| 12       | Lakshadweep      | 26                                                                | 46.3                                                              |
| 13       | Ladakh           | 93.7                                                              | 78.4                                                              |
| 14       | Maharashtra      | 54.5                                                              | 47.9                                                              |
| 15       | Meghalaya        | 54.4                                                              | 56.4                                                              |

|   16 | Manipur           |   29.3 |   26.4 |
|------|-------------------|--------|--------|
|   17 | Mizoram           |   34.8 |   24.7 |
|   18 | Nagaland          |   29.3 |   27.7 |
|   19 | Sikkim            |   42.1 |   35.2 |
|   20 | Telangana         |   57.8 |   56.9 |
|   21 | Tripura           |   67.4 |   54.5 |
|   22 | West Bengal       |   71.7 |   62.8 |
|   23 | Arunachal Pradesh |   40.8 |   43.5 |
|   24 | Chandigarh        |   60.1 |   75.9 |
|   25 | Chhattisgarh      |   61.2 |   47.3 |
|   26 | Nct Of Delhi      |   50.2 |   54.7 |
|   27 | Haryana           |   60.6 |   63.1 |
|   28 | Jharkhand         |   65.7 |   65.3 |
|   29 | Madhya Pradesh    |   54.7 |   52.4 |
|   30 | Odisha            |   64.4 |   51.2 |
|   31 | Punjab            |   58.8 |   54   |
|   32 | Puducherry        |   55.5 |   53.4 |
|   33 | Rajasthan         |   54.7 |   46.8 |
|   34 | Tamilnadu         |   53.6 |   55.4 |
|   35 | Uttar Pradesh     |   50.6 |   52.5 |
|   36 | Uttarakhand       |   42.4 |   45.1 |