Anaemia: A key focus area during Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2024

New Delhi [India], September 3 : Anaemia is one of the major themes through which this year Poshan Maah is being celebrated. Anaemia has always been one of the key focus areas under Jan Andolans so far.
Anaemia is a health concern, mainly affecting young children, adolescent girls, pregnant, postpartum women and women of reproductive age, the Ministry of Women and Child Development said in a statement on Tuesday.
The period of adolescence is the right window of opportunity to correct any nutritional pitfalls in young adolescents to prevent intergenerational effects of anaemia on future generations, it added.
To give high importance to issues around anaemia, dedicated anaemia-related themes and activities have been taken up by the Ministry of WCD in convergence with relevant ministries and departments in the previous Jan Andolans for mass sensitisation.
In the last Poshan Maah held in September 2023, more than 35 crore sensitisation activities have been reported, of which around 4 crore were focused on anaemia, it added.
In addition to directly reaching out to 69 lakh pregnant women and 43 lakh lactating mothers, the scheme currently encompasses more than 22 lakh adolescent girls (14-18 years) under the Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) across Aspirational Districts and the NE Region, it added.
With a strong direct presence of more than 10 crore beneficiaries and their families, and further reaching out to every corner of the nation twice annually through the first-of-its-kind nutrition-centric Jan Andolans.
Engagement of adolescent girls has all the potential to provide additional velocity required to create a malnutrition-free India, especially on their engagement while continuing the Ministry's efforts to support the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare's (MoH&FW) Anaemia Mukt Bharat programme at large, the release added.