Anaemia in adolescent girls of UP has doubled in the past decade

VARANASI: The rate of anaemia among adolescent girls in Uttar Pradesh has doubled in the past decade, according to the assessment of health data.
Figures from the Annual Health Survey 2014 show that on an average, 92% girls in the age of 10-17 years in state are anaemic. In 2006-06, when anaemia was examined among girls ageing between 15 and 19 years in third National Family Health Survey, the prevalence was found to be 48.6%.
A deeper look at data revealed that anaemia in adolescent girls was highest in Mau with 99.8% prevalence while in 15 other districts of UP, the rate of anaemia was above 95%.
These include: Shravasti (98.7), Bhadoi (98.2), Ballia (98.5), Sant Kabir Nagar (98.1), Kushinagar (97.8), Auraiya (97.7), Gonda (97.6), Mirzapur (97.3), Balrampur (97.1), Kaushambhi (95.7), Mathura (95.5), Maharajganj (95.5), Bareilly (95.4), Jalaun (95.3) and Ghazipur (95.2).
Nutrition officer, Unicef, Anuja Bhargava stated that prevalence of anaemia among teenaged girls is more serious issue than it appears. "It not only affects the woman per say, it affects the entire population because it serves as the base for inter-generation transfer of bad health," she stated.
Explaining more Anuja said, "An anaemic mother risks her life in child birth. And the baby born has no iron stores in the body and is therefore sure to develop the problem in the near future. Such a baby grows into a malnourished and intellectually weak individual," she explained.
Women rights activist, Dr Neelam Singh stated that anaemia was the biggest preventable killer of women in UP. "More than 55,000 women in UP die during child birth each year. Of various reasons, anaemia alone accounts for 28% 0f the deaths which totals to 15,400 deaths per year or 42 deaths every day. Anaemia is a matter of women's right to life," she said.
Anaemia appears to be an important reason behind girls quitting school. Take the example of Rupa in Lucknow's Maal area. The 15 year old opted to leave school because she was not able to cope up with studies and household responsibilities at the same time. "I felt very tired and couldn't concentrate. I failed in studies and therefore I quit," she said.
The girl's pale eye, skin and nails are enough to indicate that her haemoglobin level was not normal.