Parliament Question: Prevalence of Anaemia and Malnutrition in Women

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 2226 TO BE ANSWERED ON 31STJULY2026 PREVALENCEOFANAEMIAAND MALNUTRITION IN WOMEN †2226.SHRIRAJKUMAR ROAT: Will the Ministerof HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate: (a)whether it isa factthat the prevalenceof anaemiaandmalnutrition amongpregnant women intribal-dominated areasof Rajasthan isextremelysevere andout of 10,175pregnant women screened in Dungarpur District during April, 2025 to February, 2026, approximately 7,000were found tobe anaemic; (b) if so, the detailsof the cases of anaemic pregnantwomen intribal-dominatedareas during the last five years, year-wise; (c) whether it is a fact that out of 4,584 units of blood issued at the Dungarpur District hospital during the said period,2,544unitshadtobe transfused topregnantwomen, if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor along with the factors behind the situation despite the ongoing POSHANAbhiyan andIron-FolicAcid (IFA) programme; (d) whether the Government proposes toimplement a special actionplanfor the prevention of anaemiaandmalnutrition amongpregnantwomen intribal-dominated districts; and (e)if so, the detailsthereof andif not,the reasons therefor? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH ANDFAMILY WELFARE (SMT.ANUPRIYAPATEL) (a) to (c) As per National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5, 2019-21), the prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women is 46.3 percent and among Schedule Tribe women aged 15- 49 years is 61.6 percent in the State of Rajasthan. The prevalence of anaemia among all women aged 15-49 years is 72.6 percent in the district Dungarpur and 54.4 percent in the Stateof Rajasthan asperNFHS-5(2019-21).As per the information received from the State of Rajasthan, during April 2025 to February 2026, a total of 34,304 pregnant women were screened in Dungarpur district. Out of these, 3,152 women were found tohave severe anaemia(Hb below 7 g/dl). During the same period, 5,390 units of blood and blood components were supplied by the Government Medical College and Associated Hospital, Dungarpur. Out of these, 1,662 units were used for blood transfusion tomanage severe anaemia amongpregnant women. (d) and (e) As per information received from the State of Rajasthan, Pradhan Mantri SurakshitMatritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) isorganizedonthe 9th,18thand27thofeverymonth, andShakti Diwas every Tuesday,andMother Child HealthandNutrition (MCHN) Day every Thursday toimprove maternal health. The Government of India provides support to the States for the implementation of various schemes/initiatives to improve maternal health outcomes among pregnant women across the country, includingthe tribal-dominateddistricts, keyamongst which are asfollows:  Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan: The Government of India has recently released the Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan –Operational guidelines during the 16th Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW) meeting on 29th June 2026 to address the high prevalence of anaemia through a 7X7X7 strategy, moving ahead from the older 6X6X6 strategy of Anemia Mukt Bharat programme toreduce anemia with focused attention amongseven beneficiaries age groups through implementation of seven interventionssupported byseven institutional mechanisms. The pregnant women are provided Prophylactic Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation; Testing of anaemia at every ANC visit; Therapeutic management of anaemia (oral IFA tablets, Intravenous Iron, Blood transfusion) as per anemia management protocols; Deworming among second trimester, Jan Bhagidari- communication approach to counteract normalised perception of anemia and improve compliance to IFA supplementation; Eating Right strategy to promote consumption of locally available iron richfood anddietdiversification.  Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) is a demand promotion and conditional cash transfer scheme for promotinginstitutional delivery.  Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) entitles all pregnant woman delivering in public health institutions to have absolutely free and no expense delivery, including caesarean section. The entitlements include free drugs,consumables, free dietduring stay, free diagnostics, free transportation andfree blood transfusion, if required. Similar entitlements are also in place for sick infants up to one yearof age.  Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) provides pregnant women a fixed day, free of cost, assured and quality antenatal check up by a Specialist/Medical Officeronthe 9thdayof everymonth. ExtendedPMSMAstrategy ensures quality antenatal care (ANC) to pregnant women, especially to high-risk pregnant (HRP) women and individual HRP tracking until a safe delivery is achieved by means of financial incentivization for the identified high-risk pregnant women and accompanying ASHA for extra 3 visits over and above the PMSMAvisit.  Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) provides assured, dignified, respectful and quality healthcare at no cost and zero tolerance for denial of services for every pregnant woman and newborn visiting public health facilities to end all preventable maternalandnewborn deaths.  OptimizingPostnatal Careaims to strengthen the quality of post-natal care by laying emphasis on detection of danger signs in mothers and incentivization of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) for prompt detection, referral & treatmentof such high-risk postpartum mothers.  Functionalization of First Referral Units (FRUs) by ensuring manpower, blood storage units, referral linkages to improve the access to quality of care for pregnant women  Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Days (VHSNDs) are observed for provision of maternal and child health services and creating awareness on maternal and child-care including nutrition in convergence with the Ministry of Women and Child Development.  Outreach camps are provisioned for improving the reach of health care services, especially in tribal and hard-to-reach areas. This platform is used to increase awareness for the Maternal & Child health services, community mobilization as well astotrackhigh-risk pregnancies.  Birth Waiting Homes (BWH) are established in remote and tribal areas to promote institutional deliveryand improve accesstohealthcarefacilities. Mother and Child Protection (MCP) Card and Safe Motherhood Booklet are distributed to the pregnant women for educating them on diet, rest, danger signs of pregnancy, benefitschemesandinstitutional deliveries. *****