Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, February 18:

Iron supplements in the diet of expecting and lactating women in 12 more districts of the country will be introduced from this year on a war footing to intensify the battle against anaemia. Sharada Pandey, chief of Nutrition Section of Child Health Division, Ministry of Health told this daily most of the pregnant women fight shy of visiting health posts and hence stay deprived of adequate iron intake. This invariably leads to these women becoming severely anaemic.

“Such programmes has proved very successful as the main excuse these women had behind not going to health posts was that either they hardly got time or the posts were very far away,” said Pandey. “So instead of waiting for them to come to the posts, we have taken the post to their doorsteps. In each district, the facility is being provided by female health workers from health centres at their wards,” said Pandey. “We have plans to extend it throughout the total 75 districts.” According to a nationwide survey by the Ministry of Health in 2004, the 75 per cent of the pregnant women in Nepal are anaemic. The average national prevalence among all women was 68 per cent and that in pre-chool children was 78 per cent. Similarly, a survey in government high schools of Kathmandu Valley showed the prevalence of anaemia in adolescent girls at 66.8 per cent. The 12 new districts where the iron supplement capsules are being provided are Rautahat, Siraha, Bara, Sarlahi, Bardia, Rupendehi, Kailali, Kanchanpur, Jumla, Dailekh, Surkhet and Baitadi. The government and Macronutrient Initiative are jointly supporting the programme.

The programme was started three years ago from Bhaktapur and was extended to 12 district.

The government’s health policy clearly states that every health post shall provide iron dietary supplements to pregnant women but most of them do not bother to go to the health post.