Lok Sabha Question No. 5574 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-04
Subject: Prevalence of Anaemia
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Tanuj Punia, Shri Pradyut Bordoloi, Shri Imran Masood

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5574 TO BE ANSWERED ON 4 TH APRIL 2025

## PREVALENCE OF ANAEMIA

## 5574. SHRI PRADYUT BORDOLOI: SHRI IMRAN MASOOD: SHRI TANUJ PUNIA:

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

(a) whether any measurements pertaining to anaemia have been excluded from the National Family Health Survey-6 and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(b) whether the Government has planned for alternate surveys to measure the prevalence of anaemia across the country;

(c) if so, the details thereof including information pertaining to its sample size, methodology employed to measure anaemia, periodicity and whether it will be a nation-wide survey or only cover specific States/ regions;

(d) the total number of anaemia cases among women and children during the last five years, year and State-wise; and

(e) the details of the initiatives taken by the Government to reduce the prevalence of anaemia among women and children in the country, State/UT and year-wise?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SMT. ANUPRIYAPATEL)

(a) to (c) As per information received from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Diet and Biomarker Survey of India (DABS-I) is being undertaken across States and UTs covering more than two lakhs population from different age groups of children, adolescents, women, pregnant women, men, elderly etc. The figures for haemoglobin estimation by the DABS study, among the various age groups, will be availed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for estimating the prevalence of anaemia.

(d) As per National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5, 2019-21), the prevalence of anaemia is 57.0 percent in women age 15-49 years and 67.1 percent in children 6-59 months at

national level. The State/UT-wise prevalence of anaemia among women and children is placed at the Annexure .

(e) The Government of India implements Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) programme in 6X6X6 strategy to reduce the prevalence of anaemia among six beneficiary groups - Children 6-59 months, Children 5-9 years, Adolescents (10-19 years), Women of reproductive age (1549 years), pregnant women and lactating mothers in lifecycle approach through six interventions - Prophylactic Iron and Folic Acid supplementation (IFA Syrup to children 6-59 months, IFA Pink tablets to children 5-9 years, IFA Blue tablets to adolescents 10-19 years, IFA Red tablets to women of reproductive age group and IFA Red tablets to pregnant women and lactating mothers), Deworming, Intensified year-round behavior change communication campaign, Testing of anaemia using digital invasive hemoglobinometer and point of care treatment, Mandatory provision of iron and folic acid fortified foods in public health programmes, addressing non-nutritional causes of anaemia in endemic pockets, with special focus on malaria, haemoglobinopathies and fluorosis, via robust institutional mechanism.

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Annexure State/UT-wise Prevalence of Anaemia among women and children under 5 years

## (Source: NFHS-5, 2019-21)

|   S No. | State/UT                 |   All women age 15-49 years who are anaemic (%) |   Children age 6-59 months who are anaemic (%) |
|---------|--------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
|       1 | Andaman &Nicobar Islands |                                            57.5 |                                           40   |
|       2 | Andhra Pradesh           |                                            58.8 |                                           63.2 |
|       3 | Arunachal Pradesh        |                                            40.3 |                                           56.6 |
|       4 | Assam                    |                                            65.9 |                                           68.4 |
|       5 | Bihar                    |                                            63.5 |                                           69.4 |
|       6 | Chandigarh               |                                            60.3 |                                           54.6 |
|       7 | Chhattisgarh             |                                            60.8 |                                           67.2 |
|       8 | Delhi                    |                                            49.9 |                                           69.2 |
|       9 | DNH& DD                  |                                            62.5 |                                           75.8 |
|      10 | Goa                      |                                            39   |                                           53.2 |
|      11 | Gujarat                  |                                            65   |                                           79.7 |
|      12 | Haryana                  |                                            60.4 |                                           70.4 |
|      13 | Himachal Pradesh         |                                            53   |                                           55.4 |
|      14 | Jammu &Kashmir           |                                            65.9 |                                           72.7 |
|      15 | Jharkhand                |                                            65.3 |                                           67.5 |
|      16 | Karnataka                |                                            47.8 |                                           65.5 |
|      17 | Kerala                   |                                            36.3 |                                           39.4 |
|      18 | Ladakh                   |                                            92.8 |                                           92.5 |
|      19 | Lakshadweep              |                                            25.8 |                                           43.1 |
|      20 | Madhya Pradesh           |                                            54.7 |                                           72.7 |
|      21 | Maharashtra              |                                            54.2 |                                           68.9 |
|      22 | Manipur                  |                                            29.4 |                                           42.8 |
|      23 | Meghalaya                |                                            53.8 |                                           45.1 |
|      24 | Mizoram                  |                                            34.8 |                                           46.4 |
|      25 | Nagaland                 |                                            28.9 |                                           42.7 |
|      26 | Odisha                   |                                            64.3 |                                           64.2 |
|      27 | Puducherry               |                                            55.1 |                                           64   |
|      28 | Punjab                   |                                            58.7 |                                           71.1 |
|      29 | Rajasthan                |                                            54.4 |                                           71.5 |
|      30 | Sikkim                   |                                            42.1 |                                           56.4 |
|      31 | Tamil Nadu               |                                            53.4 |                                           57.4 |
|      32 | Telangana                |                                            57.6 |                                           70   |
|      33 | Tripura                  |                                            67.2 |                                           64.3 |
|      34 | Uttar Pradesh            |                                            50.4 |                                           66.4 |
|      35 | Uttarakhand              |                                            42.6 |                                           58.8 |
|      36 | West Bengal              |                                            71.4 |                                           69   |