“Five Hundreds” Initiative at Vizianagaram

Background

India has one of the highest occurrences of anaemia among women and children in the world. According to the national estimates, 48.1% of the women suffer from anaemia. The problem, however, is more acute in Vizianagaram district.

According to NFHS-IV (2015-16), 75.5% women aged 15-49, and 44.3% men in Vizianagaram are anaemic. Eight out of 10 children below five years of age are suffering with moderate or severe anaemia, majorly because they are born to anaemic mothers.

Intervention

A major chunk of the district’s tribal population is part of the project in Parvathipuram. Considering the high anaemia occurrence, the following five items are distributed to the pregnant women for 100 days.

1. One iron tablet;
2. One calcium tablet;
3. Glass of milk (200 ml);
4. A banana fruit (for vegetarians) and a chicken egg (for non-vegetarians); and
5. Chikki (sweet made from jaggery and groundnuts)

In addition, all Anganwadi workers, lady supervisors, ASHA workers, village officers and sarpanchs were given training regarding the significance of healthcare of pregnant women and its impact on their children’s health.

Impact

Following regular implementation of the programme, a blood testing campaign for pregnant women was conducted again after eight months. A notable reduction of 10% in numbers of anaemic pregnant women was found.

From the chart given below, it can be observed that there has been a significant reduction in the iron deficiency in the district. 

Source : Aspirational Districts for WEB