Kanpur, July 22, 2024: Not-for-profit organisation Vitamin Angels India (VA India) in partnership with the Kanpur Obstetrics and Gynaecological Society (KOGS) launched a project on Monday to reduce the prevalence of maternal anemia in Uttar Pradesh through a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach, leveraging the strengths of district health system, community involvement, and strategic partnerships.
Other partners of the project include Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj (CSJM) University, Kanpur, and EzeRx Health Tech Pvt Ltd.
The project AMMA (Anemia-Mukt Mothers and Adolescent Girls) seeks to address the complex challenge of maternal anemia, which affects a significant portion of pregnant women and adolescent girls in Uttar Pradesh, by ensuring the availability of iron folic acid supplies, generating awareness about anemia in the community, and creating an enabling environment for health improvements. The project will be piloted in selected villages in the Shivrajpur and Chaubepur blocks and identified slums in Kanpur, focussing on community-level interventions to combat anemia with the aim to create a replicable model for anemia reduction that can be scaled across Uttar Pradesh and beyond.
Speaking about the transformative potential of the project, Dr Meera Agnihotri, President of Women Health and Wellness Foundation, Chairman of Ethics Committee at State Medical College, Kanpur, and Chief Patron of Kanpur Obstetric and Gynaecological Society, stated, “While the National Family Health Survey-5, sponsored by the Government of India and conducted nationwide during 2019-21, showed improvements in health indicators, nutrition indicators remained a concern. Women and child nutrition in India have been in a worrisome state for some time. To improve this situation, our Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has taken crucial and concrete steps to address these concerns. The National Nutrition Mission and the ambitious Anemia Mukt Bharat scheme were launched to address the pressing issue of anemia. Alongside this scheme, the POSHAN Abhiyan has launched a massive initiative to connect every household in the country with nutrition information and proper nutrition.”
The project aligns with Anemia Mukt Bharat’s 6x6x6 strategy, focusing on six key beneficiaries, six interventions, and six institutional mechanisms. With the aim to improve awareness on the need for IFA consumption among mothers and adolescent girls, Project AMMA will run intensified behaviour change communication campaigns and build capacity of frontline workers.
“Under the capable leadership of our Hon’ble Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, efforts are being made to reach out to the underprivileged and weaker socio-economic communities in villages and cities across Uttar Pradesh. The anemia-related indicators in Kanpur, mirror the concerning state and national level trends, with 73% of children under five, 63% of adolescent girls aged 15-19, 58% of women, and 45% of pregnant women affected by anemia. While strengthening the government’s anemia and nutrition schemes at the community level, collective societal efforts are required.” KOGS President Dr Kalpana Dixit commented during the launch of the project.
“Anemia is not just a health issue but a development challenge that affects women and girls’ quality of life and their ability to contribute to the community’s progress. Project AMMA is designed to tackle this challenge head-on, through a series of targeted interventions and community mobilization efforts. Through Project AMMA, we aim to strengthen the existing health systems and ensure that pregnant women and adolescent girls receive the care and support they need to lead healthy lives. This project is a model of how collaboration and innovation can address complex public health challenges,” stated Dr Ashutosh Mishra, Senior Regional Technical Director, Asia and Director of Programs, Vitamin Angels in India.
The event was attended by representatives from all partner organisations involved in the initiative.
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 through Santhwana Trust.JPG)
