Parliament Question: Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission 2047

GOVERNMENT OFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTHAND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE RAJYASABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 3654 TO BE ANSWERED ON24THMARCH, 2026 SICKLE CELLANAEMIAELIMINATIONMISSION2047 3654.DR. PARMARJASHVANTSINHSALAMSINH: SHRIASHOKRAO SHANKARRAO CHAVAN: SHRIUJJWALDEORAO NIKAM: Will the Ministerof HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate: (a) the total number of tribal individuals screened under the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission since its launch, the number of 'Genetic Status Cards' distributed as of February2026,State-wise especiallyinMaharashtra; (b) the coordination mechanism between the stakeholder Ministries to provide 'Pre-marital Counseling' andspecialised treatmentcentersinhigh-prevalence States;and (c) the budgetary allocation for research into localised nutritional supplements to combat the highprevalenceof malnutrition andAnaemia intribal pockets? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SMT.ANUPRIYAPATEL) (a) to (c) Under National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission (NSCAEM), screenings in the targeted age group of 0-40 years are conducted at all health facilities from District Hospitals (DH) upto Ayushman Arogya Mandir (AAM) level in affected 17 tribal states for diagnosis of SickleCell Disease (SCD). As reported by the States on SCD portal, more than 6.97 crore screenings have been conducted in tribal dominated areas of the country including the State of Maharashtra. State- wise number of tribal population screened and Genetic Status Cards distributed, as on 16.03.2026,isat Annexure. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has devised the cost norms for establishment of Centres of Excellence (CoE) onSCD fundedby Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) invarious states. 17 CoE in15states have been approvedbyMoTAso far. Patients living with SCD are provided with the following services/ facilities for improving their quality of life through AAM- Sub Health Centres (SHC) and AAM- Primary HealthCentres(PHCs): • Follow-upof diseased individualsat frequent intervals. • Counseling regardinglifestyle management,pre-marriage andpre-nataldecisions. • Nutritional supplementationsupport through distribution of folic acidtablets. • Conductingyoga andwellness sessions. • Management of crisis symptoms andreferral tohigherfacilities. The Government ismakingsustained efforts toreduce malnutrition andanaemiaamongtribal populations in the country including tribal areas, through the Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child Adolescent Health Plus Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy under NHM, focusing on antenatal care, institutional deliveries, post-natal care and family planning services; Promotion of institutional deliveries through schemes such as Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK), Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), Extended PMSMA, LaQshya, Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN), Facility Based New-born Care, Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), Mothers’ Absolute Affection (MAA), Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB), Home Based New-born Care (HBNC) and Home-Based Care of Young Children (HBYC) programme, Monthly Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Day (VHSND), regular outreach activities, health education andscreening byASHAs andotherfrontline workers intribal habitations. Under Mission Poshan 2.0, the Government focuses on Maternal Nutrition, Infant and Young Child Feeding Norms, treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM)/ Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM)andwellnessthrough AYUSHpracticestoreduce prevalenceofwasting, stunting, anaemia and being underweight. Supplementary Nutrition is provided to children age 6 months to 6 years, pregnant women, lactating mothers and adolescent girls at Anganwadi centres as per nutrition norms, based on principles of diet diversity that provides qualityprotein,healthy fatsandmicronutrients. *****Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) to (c) of Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3654 for replyon 24.03.2026 Annexure State-wise numberof tribal populationscreenedandGenetic StatusCards distributed, ason 16.03.2026 S.No. StateName Numberof people Numberof Genetic Status Screened CardsDistributed 1 1,73,52,532 1,02,91,526 CHHATTISGARH 2 MADHYA 1,30,97,122 1,13,62,256 PRADESH 3 1,00,33,422 25,45,708 MAHARASHTRA 4 80,23,780 79,35,802 GUJARAT 5 62,71,477 33,13,308 ODISHA 6 37,06,695 17,11,992 RAJASTHAN 7 27,88,493 2,968 JHARKHAND 8 25,00,170 394 WESTBENGAL 9 ANDHRA 14,89,997 4,78,195 PRADESH 10 11,82,605 1,53,858 ASSAM 11 11,37,233 5,41,261 TELANGANA 12 UTTAR 7,64,871 4,41,716 PRADESH 13 4,51,564 4,06,510 TAMILNADU 14 3,57,266 4,244 KARNATAKA 15 2,40,335 63 BIHAR 16 1,53,670 1,51,508 UTTARAKHAND 17 1,77,959 23,029 KERALA 6,97,29,191 3,93,64,338 Total