Anemia Control Program in India Needs to be More Comprehensive

ABSTRACT

Iron?deficiency anemia has continued to remain high in India. It is possibly due to relying on only iron–folic acid (IFA) supplementation through Anemia Control Program (ACP) that is National Iron Plus Initiative (NIPI). Based on the WHO’s recommendations, we studied different interventions that can help to increase the effectiveness of NIPI such as Vitamin C supplementation with IFA, low?dose iron (LDI) with intensified health education (IHE), LDI with Vitamin C, and iron?rich food items to increase hemoglobin (Hb%) among adolescent girls through public–private partnership named Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram. Increments in Hb after 12 weeks of interventions were compared with that of control groups one with NIPI and the other without any intervention. Highest increment in Hb% was observed in IFA under NIPI plus Vitamin C group, followed by LDI plus IHE group which was comparable to Hb increment in only the NIPI group. It emphasizes the need of making existing NIPI more stringent and comprehensive by integrating effective measures based on up?to?date scientific knowledge.