HEAD: 07_Che_PN_nutrition report
Chennai: The state's programme to provide weekly iron and folic acid supplementation for children with anaemia is insufficient, necessitating a shift to therapeutic iron dosing, the state planning commission has said.
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In its report on 'Child Nutrition – Key Challenges and Strategies', the commission recommended that the state focus on the first 1,000 days of life but extend interventions to pre-pregnancy and adolescence to reduce malnutrition. Experts in the team suggested a more individualised approach to treatment, where the iron dosage is determined by the severity of the child's anaemia, age, weight, and response to treatment
As corrective measure after the National Family Health Survey, the state launched a pilot project—a collaboration by NHM, DPH, and ICDS—for early detection and intervention for malnutrition in children aged 0-6 years.
In March 2022, out of 44 lakh children enrolled in ICDS, the project identified 10,26,283 undernourished children across all districts. A school health team attached to the health department assessed all these children and found 43.68% were undernourished.
Children requiring medical intervention were referred to nearby facilities, and those with nutrition issues were followed up. Common complications observed in these children included anaemia (78%), vitamin deficiency (2%), and infections (5%).
Boys were more affected (56%) across all age groups, and the 3-6 years age group showed the highest prevalence of complications (43%), with 517 children in the 0-6 months age group also affected (3.1%).
Contributors to the report—including commission member Dr J Amalorpavanathan and its head of health and social welfare Dr G N Kripa—recommended haemoglobin assessments twice a year for adolescent girls. The status of anaemia among children should be a recurring agenda item in monthly school management committee meetings, it said.
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