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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Anaemia pill at schools

Anaemia pill at schools

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published Published on Jul 16, 2013   modified Modified on Jul 16, 2013
-The Telegraph


Children in government and public-funded schools across India will receive a weekly tablet of iron and folic acid to reduce anaemia under a programme to be launched this week.

The initiative will cover about 60 million boys and girls enrolled in Classes VI to XII at government and aided schools, a senior health official said today.

It will also cover 70 million out-of-school girls, aged 10 to 19, under the Integrated Child Development Scheme.

A nationwide health survey seven years ago had indicated that five in 10 girls and three in 10 boys aged 15 to 19 have anaemia, which can impair physical growth and work performance in adolescents.

Factors contributing to anaemia include poor intake of iron-rich food, iron and blood loss because of intestinal worms, and iron loss during menstruation in girls.

Anuradha Gupta, joint secretary in the Union health ministry, said Rs 135 crore had been set aside for the programme during 2013-14.

The tablets, containing 100mg iron and 500 micrograms of folic acid each, will be administered on a fixed day of the week throughout the year. The ministry has asked the states to earmark Monday as the day.

The programme will also seek to provide a de-worming tablet of albendazole twice a year to these children, once in August and again in February, to treat infestations by intestinal worms picked up through contaminated soil or water.

"I think this programme is a step in the right direction," said Harsh Pal Singh Sachdev, a senior paediatrician who was among the experts consulted by the ministry to prepare the programme's operational guidelines.

Intestinal worms themselves may cause iron-deficiency anaemia through chronic intestinal blood loss. Medical studies have shown that iron and folic acid tablets along with de-worming can reduce the prevalence of anaemia.

"We could expect children with mild anaemia to become non-anaemic and those with moderate anaemia to improve to mild anaemia within months," said Umesh Kapil, professor of human nutrition at AIIMS, New Delhi.

"But counselling teachers, parents and children in advance about occasional adverse effects --- such as stomach pain or nausea --- should be a crucial component of the programme," Kapil told The Telegraph.

The programme guidelines advise that the children be given these tablets after the day's main meal to reduce the risk of side effects such as nausea, health officials said. Those who report side effects will be advised to take the tablet after dinner, just before sleeping.

They will also be advised to increase their intake of "iron enhancers" --- food rich in vitamin C such as lemon or amla that help absorb iron from vegetarian Indian diets --- and educated in hygiene to reduce the risk of worm infestations.


The Telegraph, 16 July, 2013, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130716/jsp/nation/story_17121504.jsp#.UeTqwqzcjco


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