Understanding why India faces a tough battle ahead in protecting its female population from anemia

Recently, India set the stage of world politics on fire when it passed the women’s reservation bill in the House of Parliament. However, take a minute to imagine the health of women who will occupy these prestigious positions. As per the National Family Health Survey -5, 57 per cent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 are affected by anemia, which means low hemoglobin concentration that leads to inefficient oxygen transportation. While Indian women continue to progress and draw society’s attention to their rights, more than half of the country’s women continue to grapple with anemia that affects their social and economic productivity. While the government has undertaken serious efforts to address this public health concern, different reports indicate a high presence of anemia in women and children. However**,** the coming together of many prominent subject matter experts including academicians, researchers, policymakers, government representatives, and civil society organisations from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Malaysia, the USA, and the Netherlands – at the recent International Conference on Maternal & Child Health and Nutrition led by Sukarya was quite inspiring to witness the power of collective determination united by a shared vision – to combat anemia and malnutrition that continue to cast a shadow over the lives of countless mothers and children all across the world. There was a unanimous consensus that anemia is a burden not just for the country but for the entire humankind as it will impact future generations. How do we resolve this long-standing issue? While opening the conference, Meera Satpathy, the founder of Sukarya, highlighted the pivotal role of a multi-pronged collective approach in driving public health progress intricately intertwined with social development, minimising the impact of anemia on women and children. Yugal Joshi, the Mission Director, LiFE & Adviser Water at NITI Aayog as the chief guest spoke about the importance of a holistic approach to tackling social and related issues in a diverse country like India. Explaining how the provision of safe tap water supply and sanitation are closely related to health, he shared the example of Singapore. He suggested India uses a similar integrated approach to tackle the issue of anemia. Though the Indian government’s flagship programme – Anemia Mukt Bharat, adopts robust strategies, anemia remains a severe public health concern irrespective of the middle and high-wealth quintile. Therefore, there’s a critical need for the government to create stronger partnerships with non-profits, especially the ones working ground not just for broader iron-folic acid supplementation programmes but also compliance, targeting all wealth quartiles and more effective social and behaviour change campaigns that drive positive action. In the past, India has created some brilliant public interest campaigns by partnering with civil society organisations that have given birth to many iconic movements like Swacchata Abhiyaan, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Bell Bajao and many more that have not just created better awareness among the masses but also driven a positive shift in their behaviour. According to the National Family Health Survey – 5, 67.1 per cent of children below five years of age suffer from anaemia, and 35.5 per cent suffer from stunted growth. Malnutrition is intergenerational; hence, there’s a high possibility of malnourished mothers giving birth to stunted, wasted, or anemic children. Besides, it won’t be incorrect to say that India today is at par with global developments; however, to eliminate anemia and malnutrition, we need resources to apply this science while also addressing factors like poverty, lack of education, and lack of access to health care. Adequate resources towards the Integrated Child Development Scheme program, mid-day meals, and public distribution scheme, prioritized actions towards pregnant women and within the first 1000 days of childbirth will enable us to address the socioeconomic drivers of poor health and nutrition. Additionally, it’s important to note that eating behaviour is shaped by factors like family, culture, religion, social and economic influences, access, and more. Hence, to promote health-affirming behaviour, the country needs nutrition-sensitive health interventions, which also involve addressing the effect of advertising nutritionally deficient foods. Therefore, to transform the maternal child health landscape, it’s critical to embed nutrition food diversity at the heart of interventions, government, and provisioning of adequate financial and human resources for ground implementation, which means filling staff vacancies and building capacities of frontline workers. To sum it up, we need to invest in building resilient communities, we need to nurture local leadership, and we need to foster sustainable change that ripples through generations. The author is a leading international affairs expert, columnist and commentator. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. 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