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India expands Anaemia Mukt Bharat to combat adolescent anaemia

India expands Anaemia Mukt Bharat to combat adolescent anaemia
Neelam Mohan | Ensuring healthy start to life: Why fixing adolescent anaemia is urgent · deccanchronicle.com

Many children in India have a health problem called anaemia, which means their blood doesn't have enough iron and they feel very tired.

The Indian government has a big program called Anaemia Mukt Bharat, which means 'India free from anaemia.'

Recently, the government added babies born too small, under 2.5 kilograms, to this program.

The government also released new rules in June 2026 to help teenagers who have anaemia.

Almost six out of ten girls and one out of three boys in India have this problem.

Teenagers with anaemia may feel tired, do worse in school, and stop playing sports.

The new plan says doctors will test students at school and give them special iron tablets.

It also teaches families to eat healthy food with lots of iron.

The program wants to help teenagers now so that when they grow up and become parents, their babies will be healthy too.

Many doctors say this is a great way to help children and families stay healthy.

Key facts

Programme
Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) Abhiyaan
Guidelines release
June 2026
Key official
J.P. Nadda, Union health and family welfare minister
Low birth weight threshold
Under 2.5 kg
Low birth weight babies in India
Nearly 1 in 5
Anaemic pregnant women in India
1 in 2
Anaemic adolescents in India
Nearly 6 in 10 girls; 1 in 3 boys
Strategy change
6x6x6 becomes 7x7x7; T3 (Test, Treat, Talk) becomes T4 (adds Track)

Sources

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