Ministry of Ayush and Women and Child Development Ministry join hands to combat anaemia in adolescent girls

The Ministry of Ayush and the Ministry of Women and Child Development have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve the nutrition of adolescent girls through Ayurveda interventions. This initiative, named 'Anaemia Control among adolescent girls using Ayurveda interventions under Mission Utkarsh', was launched at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. Union Minister of Ayush, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, and Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Irani, were present at the signing. In the first phase, the initiative will target the anaemic status of adolescent girls aged 14-18 in five aspirational districts: Dhubri in Assam, Bastar in Chhattisgarh, Paschimi Singhbhum in Jharkhand, Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, and Dhaulpur in Rajasthan. The aim of this MoU is to improve the nutrition of approximately 95,000 adolescent girls in districts with a high prevalence of anaemia. The project will cover about 10,000 Anganwadi Centres in these five districts.

Sarbananda Sonowal recently stated that the Prime Minister's Mission Utkarsh aims to achieve the national average of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the country's aspirational districts. On the same occasion, Smt. Smriti Irani highlighted the potential of Ayush systems in providing cost-effective solutions for anaemia. Backed by evidence from institutions like ICMR, she believes this approach could benefit 95,000 individuals and provide valuable insights for the global medical community. Secretary of the Ministry of Ayush, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, further detailed the detrimental effects of anaemia on adolescents, including reduced physical and mental capacity and diminished concentration. He stressed the importance of India's traditional medicine systems in primary health care settings.

Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Shri Indewar Pandey, highlighted the ministry's primary goal of tackling malnutrition among children, adolescent girls, and pregnant women. He mentioned that initiatives such as the 'Saksham Aanganbaadi' and 'Poshan' Scheme are in place to address this issue. Pandey revealed that these schemes are supported by nearly 13.97 lakh Aanganbaadis across the nation. Special attention is given to girls aged between 14 to 18 years, as their health is crucial for the wellbeing of future generations. He also noted the successful collaboration with Ayush, which resulted in over 2.7 crore Ayush-based activities under 'Poshan Maah' and 'Poshan Pakhwada'. Furthermore, the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) is making significant contributions in this regard. It has successfully implemented public health initiatives like the national campaign on anaemia control through Ayurveda at 323 health centres in 13 states, and a multi-level operational study in the Gadchiroli District. The latter assessed the effectiveness of Ayurvedic interventions for ante-natal care, with changes in haemoglobin levels as a measure of success.

In a recent event, Prof. Ravi Narayan Acharya, Director General of the Central Council for Research in Ayurveda Science (CCRAS), was present along with Pushpa Chaudhary, Team Lead for Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health at WHO. Also in attendance were Dr Rajeev Bahl, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and other respected dignitaries.