The State School and Mass Education Department jointly with the Unicef, organised a roundtable meet on ‘Weekly iron folic acid supplementation in schools’ here on Thursday.
Attending as speaker, MDM State Nodal Officer Gangadhar Sahoo informed that more than 70 per cent of the population is anaemic in Odisha and it impacts the cognitive and development in children, productivity in adults and also the body’s immune system. In pregnancy, it causes preterm delivery and low birth weight babies, he added.
He also said balanced nutrition is the foundation of good health and well being. In order to support the normal functioning, growth and development, the human body requires a variety of nutrients on a daily basis throughout the life, he added.
Sahoo also informed that in 2013, the National Iron Plus Initiative (NIPI) programme was rolled out in Odisha to tackle the anaemia. Under the programme, all the school going children from Class-I to X belonging to all Government and Government-aided schools are given weekly iron folic acid supplementation (WIFS) after their midday meals every Monday under the supervision of teachers.
They are also given biannual de-worming tablets in the month of August and February, he added.
Health and Family Welfare Department Director Binod Kumar Mishra said iron is an important component of hemoglobin, which is essential for exchange of gases between the lungs and the tissues.
The consequences of iron deficiency include impaired cognitive performance at all stages of life, significant reduction of capacity to do physical work capacity and productivity, increased morbidity from infectious diseases, greater risk of maternal deaths preterm delivery and low birth weight babies, he added. Mishra said the IFA supplement is not a medicine, but a nutritional supplement to meet the daily requirement of the child along with his diet.
Senior journalist Prof Mrinal Chatterjee discussed on ‘Role of media in context of WIFS programme’. Unicef communication specialist Alka Gupta gave a vote of thanks.