National Family Health Survey (NFHS -5) has found an alarming picture of anaemia prevalence among the children and women in Tripura. The findings that 64.3 percent of children between 6-59 months and 67.2 % of women between 15-49 years are anaemic in Tripura prompted the state government to take up remedial measures in war footing.
Officials announced that to meet the situation a special drive against Anaemia and, along with it Tuberculosis will be launched across Tripura from March 2 to 16 next.
The special drive aims at enhancing the efforts towards building Anaemia-Mukt Tripura and TB-Mukt Tripura. The special drive ‘Active case findings’ will be carried out under the banner of “Swasth Tripura, Shresth Tripura”, an official said.
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb will launch the drive as part of which various activities will be implemented in collaboration with National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) and Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) programme divisions throughout the state.
An official report said, prevalence of Anaemia is a serious public health concern in Tripura.
“64.3 percent of children between 6-59 months and 67.2 % of women between 15-49 years are anaemic in Tripura as per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS -5) which was inclined from 48.3 percent and 54.5 percent respectively in NFHS-4,” the report said.
The Health and Family Welfare Department (NHM Tripura) with support from the School Education department and Social Welfare and Social Education department will implement the special drive in all eight districts of the state.
Meanwhile, a workshop on the “Swasth Tripura, Shresth Tripura” campaign was held at Prajna Bhavan, Agartala on February 15 last where NHM Tripura Mission director Siddharth Shiv Jaiswal held detailed discussions.