67.5% rural, migrant women anaemic in Gurugram: Survey

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, June 30

As many as 67.5% women in the age group of 15-49 and 67.7% children in the age group six-59 months are anaemic in Gurugram.

Beyond the city’s glittering image of good healthcare facilities is the persistent challenge of anaemia being rampant in rural and migrant population.

Major challenge in state

Anaemia is a major challenge across the state and we have decided to take up the project village-wise to ensure help reaches all. First, we will be identifying cases in each village. —Nishant Yadav, DC

Ready to catch the bull by its horns, the local administration has launched special initiative “Anaemia Mukt Mahilayein Parivar ko Bachayein”. The Health Department, in collaboration with Deloitte India, has collaborated on a pilot project in a unique, tech-based intervention to test, track and treat anaemic people here.

The project will target those groups with the highest prevalence of anaemia as per the National Family Health Survey 5 (NFHS-5): The women in the age group 15-49 and children in the age group six-59 months.

As part of this intervention, anaemia screening and treatment camps are being organised in Farukhnagar tehsil’s three villages — Tajnagar, Patli Hajipur and Sultanpur. The camps will be organised for three days in each village, and beneficiaries will be screened for anaemia, provided with suitable supplements and referred to a healthcare institution if found to be severely anaemic.

One of the major focus areas of this intervention will be on “tracking” the progress of the beneficiaries, which will be done through an application form. The vitals related to anaemia of each beneficiary will be captured and daily follow-up calls will be made to each beneficiary to ensure that they consume the supplements which

have been arranged by Deloitte in collaboration with the Health Department.

This “nudge” will ensure that residents stick to the prescribed course of supplements and diet, which is expected to lead to an increase in their HB levels.

A team of the district Health Department will be involved in mobilising, testing the beneficiaries, recording the data and counselling the beneficiaries about the health risks caused by anaemia, the importance of consuming the right supplements and the best practices related to diet and lifestyle. A care kit will be provided for all beneficiaries, containing food items that can contribute to a healthy diet.

The first camp was held at Tajnagar village on June 27.

According to the NFHS-5 factsheet for Haryana, the prevalence of anaemia is 60.4% in women in the age group 15-49, and 70.4% in children in the age group of six-59 months.

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