New Delhi, February, 2023: Thousands of women from five states availed medical consultation for gynaecological problems, including anaemia, under the 40-day ‘Nari Swasthya Janandolan Yatra’ / Na Na Anemia Ride organised by the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) under the leadership of its president Dr Hrishikesh Pai.
The initiative was part of Dr Pai’s ‘Badlaav’ (Change) Campaign, which aims to bring holistic health awareness among Indian women, especially about anaemia prevention and cure.
“The ‘Badlaav’ campaign is a 360-degree programme comprising of Ekikaran (Integration), Samanta (Equality) and Takniki (Technology). It aims to improve women’s health scenario with a stress on preventive healthcare measures. The Yatra is a unique amalgamation of free health camps, public forums and educational CMEs and its purpose has been to raise awareness and train doctors in providing advanced treatment for anaemia,” Dr Hrishikesh Pai said.
Dr Pai said the ‘Badlaav’ campaign also envisages free health check-up for non-pregnant women on the 18th of every month and provide treatment as well as a diagnosis to them at low/free of cost. Exuding confidence that the campaign will bring about a change / ‘Badlaav’, Dr Pai said, “It will take time but we will continue to aspire for the change and do everything possible to achieve that.”
The Yatra covered over 4000 km in 21 cities over 40 days, covering 5 Indian States (Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal) and 21 FOGSI societies and approximately 60 million people were touched. The ride also had a large red anaemia bus and a big video van that was used to play women’s health-related messages, specially prepared by FOGSI members. The van and bus were parked on the road, to reach out to the community. 21 health check-up camps were conducted, relevant data was collected and more than 4000 patients were examined. Besides these, 21 public forums and 21 continuing medical education workshops were also conducted.
“Nari Swasthaya Janandolan Yatra – Na Na Anemia Drive” was launched on 29th November, on the holy banks of the river Ganges at Rishikesh. During the launch, famous Bollywood celebrity, Ms Karishma Kapoor did the unveiling of the “anaemia hatao bus” and “van with the big screens” displaying various health messages. While talking about anaemia she mentioned how she is anaemic, and how blessed she feels to be a part of such a noble initiative to improve the health care of women in India. The grand launch was also attended by many FOGSI members and senior doctors including current FOGSI vice presidents Dr Alka Pandey, Dr Yashodhara Pradeep, Dr Asha Baxi and Dr Sampath Kumari. FOGSI National Co-ordinators Dr Rishma Pai and Dr Nandita Palshetkar and many other senior doctors – Dr Ranjana Khanna, Dr Ashish Mukhopadhyay, Dr Vinita Singh, Dr Sunita Tandulwadkar, Dr Arti Luthra, FOGSI joint Secretary- Dr Manisha Takhtani and Dr Priyankur Roy also took part and contributed to the cause.
Anaemia in Indian Women & Children
According to the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS), anaemia among women has worsened in the past half a decade across most states in India. Of late, as many as 66.4 per cent of women suffer from anaemia, the survey found.
States with a high prevalence of anaemia are West Bengal (62.5 per cent), Jharkhand (65.2 per cent), and Bihar (60.3 per cent).
Moreover, data from Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey show that approximately 50 per cent of women of reproductive age, 41 per cent of pre-schools, 24 per cent of children of school-going age and 28 per cent of adolescents are anaemic.
The honourable Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Shri Pushkar Singh Dham ji and the honourable Health Minister, Shri Dhan Singh Rawat ji also graced the occasion and gave their blessings to the Yatra. Many other known personalities from Dehradun, school teachers and common people also actively participated in the forum and shared their suggestions about decreasing anaemia in society. This was followed by a CME which included a panel discussion and talks about anaemia and other gynaecological disorders.
During the yatra, Dr Pai felicitated activists working towards spreading awareness about women’s health.
Anaemia is a major public health concern in India with 53.2 per cent of non-pregnant women and 50.4 per cent of pregnant women being affected by the condition. Though the condition has consequences throughout one’s life, it may cause serious complications during pregnancy.
One in three women suffers from iron deficiency, which causes tiredness, paleness, dizziness and hair loss. But since these are often ignored, early identification and timely diagnosis become quite difficult.
Experts believe that there is a need to intensify efforts to address all causes of anaemia for a speedy decline of the condition’s prevalence among all age groups in a mission mode using a multi-pronged strategy rather than a scattered programme.
“India has one of the highest reported cases of iron deficiency and anaemia. However, iron deficiency can often be confused with a deficiency of vital vitamins which is common in India and is overlooked sometimes. We hope the bus yatra has been effective in raising awareness at the grassroots levels,” Dr Pai added.
The government has implemented the Anaemia Mukt Bharat strategy under the POSHAN Abhiyaan for reducing anaemia among children in the age group of six to 59 months, five to nine years, adolescent girls and boys (10-19 years), pregnant women, lactating women and women of reproductive age group (15 to 49 years).
The major interventions by the government to address anaemia under Anaemia Mukt Bharat include prophylactic iron and folic acid supplementation, deworming, intensified year-round behaviour change communication campaign, testing of anaemia using digital methods and point of care treatment, addressing non-nutritional causes of anaemia in endemic pockets with special focus on malaria, hemoglobinopathies and fluorosis and monitoring progress in states and Union territories using Anaemia Mukt Bharat dashboard.