New Delhi, Sep 13, 2020: Recognizing that the fight against a widespread disease like anaemia lacks private initiatives, the Integrated Health and Wellbeing (IHW) Council, a non-profit social impact institution promoting health for all, along with 6 other health and civil society organisations, has announced to observe 21^st March every year as National Anaemia Day to raise awareness and broach dialogues.

The announcement came on the concluding day of Bharat Nutrition Week as a part of a 2-year-long undertaking titled ‘SHAPATH’ by women-driven multisectoral leaders aimed to substantially reduce prevalence of anaemia in India and prevent its return, and was enthusiastically supported by the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), the oldest professional organization representing practitioners of obstetrics and gynaecology in India.

Anaemia continues to affect 50 per cent of women, adolescent girls, and boys in India despite the National Nutritional Anaemia Prophylaxis Programme (NNAPP) beginning in 1970. “With the pandemic, we, as obgyns, are facing the biggest health care challenge of all times, compounded with the issues of gender inequality and access to care, but nevertheless, the essential care for girls and women, has to continue. I congratulate the IHW Council for this timely ‘SHAPATH’ intervention for anaemia care and we will support the initiative in every possible way. FOGSI, this year, has initiated a 90-day campaign from 15^th August for anaemia reduction and is reaching out to the community through multiple platforms. We chose radio campaigns this time and have connected with nearly 1 crore 6 lakh people so far,” says Dr Alpesh Gandhi, President, FOGSI.

Apart from the IHW Council, members of the collective include FOGSI, WWW Foundation, Asian Research and Training Institute for Skill Transfer (ARTIST), Vedanta Nand Ghar, WISH Foundation, WASH alliance and Emcure Pharmaceuticals. The collective will identify the target groups and deploy teams, provide products and equipment support for ‘test-and-cure’ programs in most-affected districts and states with an aim to reinforce the government’s commitment for an ‘anaemia-mukt Bharat’.

“The time to think, talk, and listen is over, it is time for moving from awareness to action and deliver solutions that work. SHAPATH is a strong resolve to make this a national movement and the women leaders involved are determined to make a difference by walking the talk in collaboration with the IHW Council, amplifying and accelerating the pace to reach a meaningful destination. FOGSI champions will continue to extend their support and join to the initiative to reach every girl every woman,” says Dr Hema Divakar, CEO and Chairman, Asian Research and Training Institute for Skill Transfer (ARTIST) and former president FOGSI (2013).

The VISION 2022 of the collective is to bring down the prevalence of iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) from NFHS(4)-level of 58% to 40% in lactating women, from 50% to 32% in pregnant women, and from 54% to 36% in adolescent girls between 15 and 19 years-old by 2022. Strengthening  the government initiative of anaemia-mukt Bharat,  SHAPATH will walk the path to reach the target set for adolescent boys between 15 and 19 years-old — 11% from current 29% and to 40% from 58% in children between 6 to 59 months A rigorous data collection, documentation, and monitoring & evaluation (M&E) regime will be followed to assess the value of these interventions and collaborate with government authorities to leverage policy framework and contribute in accelerating the national mission to eradicate anaemia by 2022.

“Bharat Nutrition Week was aimed to deliberate on pressing concerns and initiate meaningful actions. I am very happy to be a part of this women-driven anaemia-reduction program through SHAPATH, which aims to accelerate time-bound reduction of anaemia in India. The IHW Council has reached to as many as 20 lakh people through various social media handles in the past 1 month and hopes to cover more ground in the coming days with other initiatives required to ensure health for all,” says Mr. Kamal Narayan, CEO, Integrated Health and Wellbeing (IHW) Council.

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New Delhi, Sep 4, 2020: Multisectoral leaders have joined hands with the Integrated Health and Well-being (IHW) Council, a non-profit social impact institution promoting health for all, to announce a 2-year-long undertaking to substantially reduce prevalence of anaemia in India and monitor to prevent its return at the ongoing Bharat Nutrition Week. The collective also announced to observe ‘National Anaemia Day’ on 21^st March every year to raise awareness about a disease that affects 50 per cent of women in India and could not be eradicated despite initiating the National Nutritional Anaemia Prophylaxis Programme (NNAPP) in 1970.

The multi-stakeholder collective ‘Shapath’ will work to reinforce the government’s commitment of an ‘anaemia-mukt Bharat’ by bringing down prevalence of iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) from NFHS(4)-level of 58% to 40% in lactating women, from 50% to 32% in pregnant women, and from 54% to 36% in adolescent girls between 15 and 19 years-old by 2022. The target set for adolescent boys between 15 and 19 years-old is 11% from current 29% and to 40% from 58% in children between 6 to 59 months.

In addition to the IHW Council, other members of the collective include Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), WWW Foundation, Asian Research and Training Institute for Skill Transfer (ARTIST), Vedanta Nand Ghar, WISH Foundation, and Emcure Pharmaceuticals. The team will bring together their respective expertise to identify the target groups and deploy specialized teams, provide products and equipment support for ‘test-and-cure’ programs in most-affected districts and states in India.

A rigorous data collection, documentation, and monitoring & evaluation (M&E) regime will be followed to assess the value of these interventions and collaborate with government authorities to leverage policy framework and contribute in accelerating the national mission to eradicate anaemia by 2022. “Anaemia is a problem that cannot be addressed due to a gap between knowledge and implementation. Swachh Bharat was a timely intervention. Another aspect we have seen is that once the officer in charge of programme changes, a fresh SOP is sought. This causes delay in implementing the measures to check anaemia,” says Dr Shanta Kumari, President Elect, FOGSI.

“That we do not have an anaemia day reflects the prioritisation or lack of it. Accountability is crucial for bringing change. We must have a structured way of implementing programs by following goal-setting, determining milestones and timelines, fixing ownership, and measuring the impact,” says Namita Thapar, Executive Director, Emcure Pharmaceuticals.

“We have a vision called ‘India at 75’ where we wish to see India free of malnutrition, one of the causes of anaemia. While working with the anganwadis, we found that so many of them were not getting mid-day meals. We are working on all these aspects and wish to see India anaemia free by India at 75,” says Ritu Jhingon, CEO-Nand Ghar, Vedanta Limited.

“Absence of toilets forced women to drink less water and take less food because it was a risk to their dignity. Initiatives like Swachh Bharat have helped a lot to address such problems. I want to tell the women, you embody the Indian culture of ‘give first and take later’ but do not allow yourself to go hungry, abused, or suppressed,” says Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswatiji, Secretary-General, Global Interfaith WASH Alliance President, Divine Shakti Foundation.

“Despite programmes launched 50 years ago, more than half of the population continues to suffer from various degrees of anaemia. Saying this is unacceptable has not made any difference over the years. We need more robust and concerted efforts, designating a national anaemia day is the right stepping stone – it will help us raise awareness better and drive us to measure the impact of interventions. We will share our proposal with the right authorities in time,” says Mr. Kamal Narayan, CEO, Integrated Health and Wellbeing (IHW) Council.

Aiming to raise the awareness and discussion around nutrition among children, a fact highlighted by hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his ‘Mann ki Baat’ broadcast, the event will have a special segment titled ‘Bharat Nutrition Quiz Show with School Kids’, where students from all over India will participate. Panel discussions with around 100 speakers including government officials of various ministries and institutions; policy experts of WHO and UNICEF; industry leaders, researchers, and medical practitioners will deliberate for over 60 hours on the pressing issues related to availability and access to nutrition. Discussion forums involving leading dieticians, nutritionists, food entrepreneurs and influencers will be held under ‘Good Food Talk Show’ while ‘Healthy Khayega India’, a special live session, will host celebrity chefs.

‘Bharat Nutrition Week’ is being hosted with support from Asian Research and Training Institute for Skill Transfer (ARTIST), WWW Foundation, World of Wellbeing (WOW), and Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI). The event will culminate on 7^th September with Bharat Nutrition Awards 2020, honouring organizations, institutions, and individuals for their contribution in developing innovative products, conducting new research, grassroot-level initiatives for women, children, and elderly people, and spreading awareness and educational programs.

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