A Unicef report on adolescents (between 10 and 19 years of age) titled 'Progress for Children' has revealed that nearly 50 per cent of adolescent girls aged between 15 and 19 years in India are underweight, with a body mass index of less than 18.5.
Anaemia is a severe public health problem in sixteen countries of the world, the largest number of cases being found here in India where more than half of girls aged between 15 and 19 years are anaemic.
Anaemia, most commonly iron-deficiency anaemia, increases the maternal risk of haemorrhage and sepsis during childbirth. It causes cognitive and physical deficits in young children and reduces productivity in adults. Women and young children are most vulnerable to anaemia due to insufficient iron in their diets, ongoing blood loss and periods of rapid growth.
India is the only Asian nation apart from Nepal and Cambodia in a list of 21 countries most affected by anaemia. For a country which recently tested an ICBM and has an active space programme, it is time for some reality check.
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