Anemia still a challenge, needs attention: Choubey

Anemia is still a challenge which needs attention, Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey said Tuesday and stressed on the need for creating a people's movement to ensure proper nutrition for every newborn in the country for their survival and healthy development.

Highlighting the achievements of the Union Health Ministry, he said India has taken huge strides in reducing maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and achieving UN's millennium development goals.

The Union Minister of State for Health asserted that with these initiatives, India will be address the burden of anemia and undernutrition among children in the country.

"With an average prevalence of 40 per cent across all age groups, anemia still is a challenge which needs attention," he said while making an appeal to create a 'Jan Andolan' for nutrition and contribute to this hard work of ensuring survival and healthy development of the country's every newborn.

He said this after inaugurating a two-day National Dissemination Workshop on 'Anemia Mukt Bharat' and Home-Based Young Child Care (HBYC). Member (Health) Niti Aayog Dr V K Paul was also present at the inaugural function.

The objective of the workshop is to orient the state programme managers for rolling out these interventions.

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are here to witness the beginning of two significant programmes, the 'Anemia Mukt Bharat' and Home-based Young Child Care," Choubey said.

"Both of these programmes are our commitment to the 'Poshan Abhiyaan' in improving the nutritional outcomes in this population," he said.

On the occasion he also released a tool kit for 'Anemia Mukt Bharat' and Home-Based care for Young Child programmes.

Under 'Poshan Abhiyaan', and as part of 'Anemia Mukt Bharat', everything needed technically to address the country's anemia burden is in place, Paul said, adding, "These interventions will make a difference. We have ingredients for all that can be done to make sure that no one is left behind."