National Strategy for Prevention and Control of Anemia in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh anemia affects 46% of pregnant women, 64% of children aged 6-23 months, 42% of children aged 24-59 months, 30% of adolescent girls and 33% of non-pregnant women (BBS/UNICEF 2004)
The MOHFW and other involved sectors recognized the need for preventing and controlling anemia in Bangladesh and developed the National Guideline and Strategy for the prevention and control of Anemia
The program includes awareness creation activities to control anemia and parasitic diseases; implementation of strategy to address the major causes of the malnutrition and anemia including iron-folate supplementation, longtime food fortification and implementation.
Prevalence of anemia in Bangladesh
| Population | Prevalance(%) |
|---|---|
| Pres-school aged children | 49% |
| Pregnant women | 46% |
| Non-pregnant women | 33% |
| Adolescents in country | 23-29% |
| Adolescent in the Chittagong Hill tracts | 43% |
GOAL
The overall goal of the National Strategy is to reduce by one quarter of the prevalence of anemia among high-risk groups in Bangladesh by 2015.
The objectives to be achieved by 2015 are:
Provide a package of interventions to prevent and control anemia in 60% of high-risk groups, including micronutrient supplementation, parasitic diseases control, and promotion of key dietary behaviors known to improve micronutrient intake.
Fortify at least one food vehicle with iron and other micronutrients needed for anaemia prevention increase the availability of affordable micro-nutrient rich foods through household food production, crop diversification, biotechnology and biofortification.
Target groups:
Interventions to prevent and control anaemia are prioritized to the three high-risk groups at greatest risk of anaemia and its consequences:
- Low birth weight infants aged 2-5 months and all children aged 6-23 months
- Pregnant women and breastfeeding women up to 3 months postpartum
- Adolescent girls and newly married women
Three additional groups should also be considered for targeting where resources allow:
- Pre-school children aged 24-59 months
- School-aged children aged 5-11 years
- Non-pregnant women of reproductive age
Strategies:
- Strategy 1: Micronutrient supplementation
- Strategy 2: Dietary improvement
- Strategy 3: Parasitic disease control
- Strategy 4: Family planning and safe motherhood
- Strategy 5: Food fortification
- Strategy 6: Production of micronutrient-rich foods
The broad plan of action describes the actions required to implement the strategy. It is intended as the basis for the formulations of a detailed five years and annual plan of action now in the process of development
