Govt plans nationwide drive to screen patients of anaemia

New Delhi: Worried over the alarming increase in the cases of anaemia among children and women, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has decided to roll out a comprehensive scheme on a mission mode to address the pertinent issue.

According to a senior official, the campaign which has been christened as Anaemia Free India would be launched across the country from September 15.

"Under the campaign, blood tests to find out anaemic disorders among children up to 5 years and adults of the age group from 15 years to 49 years would be done. On the detection of anaemia among the screened people, they would be provided with required medical attention," the official said.

The official further said that in the cases of anaemic disorders, the major challenge is that most of the patients don't even know whether they are anaemic or not. "We have decided to screen women and children under the Anaemia Free India campaign as the number of anaemic patients is increasing in the country which is turning out to be another major disease burden," the official said.

Explaining about the rollout plan of the campaign, the official said, "With the support of all AIIMS, all state governments under National Health Mission and UNICEF the screening of women and children would be done by organising camps in villages."

As per the latest data, the country has 53 per cent anaemic women belonging to 15 years to 49 years, while 58.4 per cent children belonging to six months to one year are anaemic. In Uttar Pradesh, 63.2 children are anaemic, while 52.4 per cent are suffering from anaemia in the state.

The situation is worse in Jharkhand as there are 69.9 per cent children and 65.2 per cent women are anaemic in the state, while in neighbouring state Bihar there are 63.5 per cent children and 60.3 per cent women are suffering from anaemia.

The women are more prone to anaemia due to the intake of iron deficient food and untimely eating habits.

The other major cause of the disease is poor hygiene among women.