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A review of the maternal iron and folic acid supplementation programme in Nepal: Achievements and challenges

In the late 1990s, an estimated 75% of pregnant women in Nepal were anaemic. Although iron and folic acid (IFA) supplements were available free of charge, coverage among pregnant women was very low. In response, the Government of Nepal launched the Iron Intensification Programme (IIP) in 2003 to imp...

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Autores principales: Paudyal, Naveen, Parajuli, Kedar Raj, Garcia Larsen, Vanessa, Adhikari, Ramesh Kant, Devkota, Madhu Dixit, Rijal, Sanjay, Chitekwe, Stanley, Torlesse, Harriet
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8770647/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33763980
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13173
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author Paudyal, Naveen
Parajuli, Kedar Raj
Garcia Larsen, Vanessa
Adhikari, Ramesh Kant
Devkota, Madhu Dixit
Rijal, Sanjay
Chitekwe, Stanley
Torlesse, Harriet
author_facet Paudyal, Naveen
Parajuli, Kedar Raj
Garcia Larsen, Vanessa
Adhikari, Ramesh Kant
Devkota, Madhu Dixit
Rijal, Sanjay
Chitekwe, Stanley
Torlesse, Harriet
author_sort Paudyal, Naveen
collection PubMed
description In the late 1990s, an estimated 75% of pregnant women in Nepal were anaemic. Although iron and folic acid (IFA) supplements were available free of charge, coverage among pregnant women was very low. In response, the Government of Nepal launched the Iron Intensification Programme (IIP) in 2003 to improve the coverage of IFA supplementation and anthelminthic treatment during pregnancy, as well as promote the utilization of antenatal care. This review examined how the IIP programme contributed to Nepal's success in increasing the consumption of IFA supplements during pregnancy. Nepal's cadre of Female Community Health Volunteers were engaged in the IIP to support the community‐based distribution of IFA supplements to pregnant women and complement IFA distribution through health facilities and outreach services. As a result, the country achieved a fourfold increase in the proportion of women who took IFA supplements during pregnancy between 2001 and 2016 (from 23% to 91%) and a 12‐fold increase in the proportion who took IFA supplements for at least 90 days during pregnancy (from 6% to 71%). The increase in coverage of IFA supplements accompanied an increase in the coverage of antenatal care during the same period. By 2016, the prevalence of anaemia in pregnant women decreased to 46%, highlighting the need to tackle other causes of anaemia and improve haemoglobin concentration before pregnancy, while maintaining the successful efforts to reach pregnant women with IFA supplements at the community level.
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spelling pubmed-87706472022-01-24 A review of the maternal iron and folic acid supplementation programme in Nepal: Achievements and challenges Paudyal, Naveen Parajuli, Kedar Raj Garcia Larsen, Vanessa Adhikari, Ramesh Kant Devkota, Madhu Dixit Rijal, Sanjay Chitekwe, Stanley Torlesse, Harriet Matern Child Nutr Nutrition in Nepal: Three Decades of Progress for Children and Women In the late 1990s, an estimated 75% of pregnant women in Nepal were anaemic. Although iron and folic acid (IFA) supplements were available free of charge, coverage among pregnant women was very low. In response, the Government of Nepal launched the Iron Intensification Programme (IIP) in 2003 to improve the coverage of IFA supplementation and anthelminthic treatment during pregnancy, as well as promote the utilization of antenatal care. This review examined how the IIP programme contributed to Nepal's success in increasing the consumption of IFA supplements during pregnancy. Nepal's cadre of Female Community Health Volunteers were engaged in the IIP to support the community‐based distribution of IFA supplements to pregnant women and complement IFA distribution through health facilities and outreach services. As a result, the country achieved a fourfold increase in the proportion of women who took IFA supplements during pregnancy between 2001 and 2016 (from 23% to 91%) and a 12‐fold increase in the proportion who took IFA supplements for at least 90 days during pregnancy (from 6% to 71%). The increase in coverage of IFA supplements accompanied an increase in the coverage of antenatal care during the same period. By 2016, the prevalence of anaemia in pregnant women decreased to 46%, highlighting the need to tackle other causes of anaemia and improve haemoglobin concentration before pregnancy, while maintaining the successful efforts to reach pregnant women with IFA supplements at the community level. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2021-03-24 /pmc/articles/PMC8770647/ /pubmed/33763980 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13173 Text en © 2021 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
spellingShingle Nutrition in Nepal: Three Decades of Progress for Children and Women
Paudyal, Naveen
Parajuli, Kedar Raj
Garcia Larsen, Vanessa
Adhikari, Ramesh Kant
Devkota, Madhu Dixit
Rijal, Sanjay
Chitekwe, Stanley
Torlesse, Harriet
A review of the maternal iron and folic acid supplementation programme in Nepal: Achievements and challenges
title A review of the maternal iron and folic acid supplementation programme in Nepal: Achievements and challenges
title_full A review of the maternal iron and folic acid supplementation programme in Nepal: Achievements and challenges
title_fullStr A review of the maternal iron and folic acid supplementation programme in Nepal: Achievements and challenges
title_full_unstemmed A review of the maternal iron and folic acid supplementation programme in Nepal: Achievements and challenges
title_short A review of the maternal iron and folic acid supplementation programme in Nepal: Achievements and challenges
title_sort review of the maternal iron and folic acid supplementation programme in nepal: achievements and challenges
topic Nutrition in Nepal: Three Decades of Progress for Children and Women
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8770647/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33763980
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13173
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