Anemia

PREVALENCE
Anemia is a condition in which an individual does not have enough healthy
hemoglobin, the molecule that transports oxygen in red blood cells.
This condition is fairly prevalent and can cause fatigue, weakness, dizziness,
and shortness of breath.

Anemia can be caused by a variety of factors, including sickle cell anemia,

iron deficiency anemia, or anemia caused by other medical diseases such as
chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hypothyroidism. Iron-deficiency anemia is
the most frequent type, accounting for around 50% of all anemia cases.

According to research and surveys all over the world, it has been found out
that around 1.6 billion people of the world suffer with anemia; India being
the country with the highest prevalence of anemia among its citizens.

In India, the prevalence of anemia is even higher in women as compared to

men. Nearly 51% of the Indian women suffer from anemia. According to the
National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-3, 2005–06, 56 % of women and 30 %
of men in India aged 15–19 years were anemic.

Anemia affects between 33% and 89 % of pregnant women, and it affects
more than 60% of adolescent females. Among people aged 15–24 years, it
has been observed that anemia is more common in rural than urban
locations, and among families from lower socioeconomic strata.

CHILDREN AGE 6 TO 59 MONTHS WHO ARE ANEMIC (2015-2016)

Rural 59.4%
Urban 55.9%
Total 58.4%

NON PREGNANT WOMEN AGE 15 TO 49 YEARS WHO ARE ANEMIC (2015-

2016)
Rural 54.3%
Urban 50.9%
Total 53.1%
PREGNANT WOMEN AGE 15 TO 49 YEARS WHO ARE ANEMIC (2015-2016)
Rural 52.1%
Urban 45.7%
Total 50.3%

WEEKLY IRON & FOLIC ACID

SUPPLEMENTATION PROGRAM
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare- Government of India had
launched the Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS)
Programme to address nutritional anaemia among adolescents (age group
of 11-19years). This programme was implemented in pan India both rural and
urban areas.

The WIFS initiative targeted on adolescents in government schools and out-

of-school adolescents aged 11–19.

Under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) system, out-of-

school adolescents were served through Anganwadi centres.

The  basic strategy of the programme was to administer a supervised 100

mg dosage of elemental iron and a 0.5 mg dose of folic acid orally to
adolescents by their teachers on a fixed day of the week. Along with this,
students also had to go through biannual deworming with albendazole.

A Program like this was much needed by the people for adolescents because
adolescence is an ideal time for treatments to tackle anemia because it is a
period of rapid growth and development. Lack of nutrition education and
IFA supplementation at this time may push young boys and girls deeper into
the cycle of iron shortage and anaemia. Aside from satisfying development
requirements in adolescent girls, enough iron consumption is also required
before and throughout pregnancy. Anemia restricts boys' and girls' growth
and learning ability, diminishes focus in daily chores, increases their
vulnerability to infection, raises school dropout rates, and reduces physical
fitness and work productivity. Premature births, low birth weight, and
perinatal and maternal mortality are all connected with anaemia in females
during pregnancy.
REFERENCES

https://www.medindia.net/health_statistics/diseases/anemia-in-india-
statistics.asp
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/51-of-indian-women-aged-15-49-
anaemic-most-in-world-study/articleshow/61538152.cms
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4776831/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17209473/#:~:text=Background%3A
%20%20%20%20%20%20%20,and%20is%20more%20than%2060%25%20among
%20adolescent%20girls.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sumit-Malhotra-
2/publication/284159706_Challenges_in_scaling_up_successful_public_healt
h_interventions_Lessons_learnt_from_resistance_to_a_nationwide_roll-
out_of_the_weekly_iron-
folic_acid_supplementation_programme_for_adolescents_in_India/links/56
4cc10108aeafc2aaaf7687/Challenges-in-scaling-up-successful-public-health-
interventions-Lessons-learnt-from-resistance-to-a-nationwide-roll-out-of-the-
weekly-iron-folic-acid-supplementation-programme-for-adolescents-in-
India.pdf
https://teachersbadi.in/jbar-wifs-program-what-is-weekly-iron/