DIMAPUR — Nagaland is falling short with iron and folic acid (IFA) coverage among women. The state reported 71.7% of pregnant women receiving 180 IFA Red tablets. For lactating women, the coverage is only 42.4%.
This was revealed by the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Singh Patel, in a written reply in the Raja Sabha on Tuesday.
As part of Mission Poshan 2.0, the government of India is implementing the Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) strategy to reduce the prevalence of anaemia among children, adolescents, and women through a life cycle approach.
The 6X6X6 strategy aims to reduce anaemia among six beneficiary age groups—children aged 6-59 months, children aged 5-9 years, adolescents aged 10-19 years, women of reproductive age (15-49 years), pregnant women, and lactating women—through the implementation of six interventions.
The interventions include prophylactic iron and folic acid supplementation, periodic deworming, intensified year-round behaviour change communication campaigns, testing for anaemia using digital invasive hemoglobinometers and point-of-care treatment, mandatory provision of iron and folic acid-fortified foods in public health programmes, and addressing non-nutritional causes of anaemia in endemic areas.
These interventions are supported by six institutional mechanisms, including inter-ministerial coordination, convergence with other ministries, strengthening supply chain and logistics, engaging the National Centre of Excellence and Advanced Research on Anaemia Control for healthcare provider capacity building, and monitoring through the AMB dashboard.
Among the northeastern states, Sikkim leads with impressive coverage rates of 93.4% for pregnant women and 89.3% for lactating women receiving 180 IFA Red tablets. While Assam and Tripura have 95% coverage for pregnant women, their rates for lactating women are lower at 65.4% and 58.6%, respectively.
Arunachal Pradesh shows strong coverage for pregnant women at 91.5% but falls short for lactating women at 57.4%. Mizoram follows a similar pattern, with 81.5% for pregnant women and 64.6% for lactating women.
Meghalaya's figures are concerning, with only 68.6% of pregnant women and 64.2% of lactating women receiving adequate IFA supplementation. Manipur has the lowest rates in the region, at 46.4% for pregnant women and 33.6% for lactating women.