The Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) strategy has been designed to reduce the prevalence of Anemia by 3 percentage points per year
As India has the highest total prevalence of Anemia at 39.86% in the world, to discuss the Anemia Mukt Bharat: Where are we; the challenges of a developing nation to tackle Anemia and the prospective solutions to those challenges; how accurate Point of Care (PoC) diagnosis and data can be the game-changer for Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB), Unite to Eradicate Anemia E-Summit 2020 – the Episode-13 of the HEAL-Thy Samvaad series was organised by the HEAL Foundation and powered by HemoCue.
Complying with the targets of POSHAN Abhiyaan and National Nutrition Strategy set by NITI Aayog, the Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) strategy has been designed to reduce the prevalence of Anemia by 3 percentage points per year among children, adolescents and women in the reproductive age group (15–49 years), between the year 2018 and 2022.
Dr J L Meena, Joint Director, National Health Authority (NHA), GoI, said, “Test is the best option for the prevention of Anemia. First, screening, prevention and then treatment. Treatment for Anemia is also there in AYUSHMAN Bharat.”
Speaking on the ongoing status of Anemia Mukt Bharat GoI’ flagship programme, Dr Kapil Yadav, Additional Professor & Nodal Person, National Centre of Excellence and Advanced Research on Anemia Control (NCEAR-A), Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS, New Delhi, said, “Although NFHS-5 data show Anaemia continues to be a major concern among women, children, yet Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) campaign, with an ambitious target of reducing anaemia by three percentage points per annum till 2022, are not really captured in the NFHS-5 data because they really got going only recently.”
“And we have made remarkable progress in 2.5 years as there has been a paradigm shift in Anemia point of care diagnostic tests. Digital Haemoglobin meters have lots of scopes and are widely used for testing with increased demand. Three things – Point of care (Diagnostics), Food fortification and the parenteral (non-oral means of administration) iron for moderate to severe Anemia are the key to achieve AMB targets”, he added.