A review of the maternal iron and folic acid supplementation programme in Nepal: Achievements and challenges
Author(s)
Paudyal, Naveen
Parajuli, Kedar Raj
Garcia Larsen, Vanessa
Adhikari, Ramesh Kant
Devkota, Madhu Dixit
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
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.
Date Issued
2022-01-01
Date Acceptance
2021-01-27
Citation
Maternal and Child Nutrition, 2022, 18 (S1)
ISSN
1740-8695
Publisher
Wiley Open Access
Journal / Book Title
Maternal and Child Nutrition
Volume
18
Issue
S1
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs 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.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs 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.
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33763980
Subjects
Nepal
anaemia
antenatal
anthelmintics
community health volunteer
community-based distribution
iron and folic acid supplements
iron deficiency anaemia
pregnancy
prenatal care
review
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
ARTN e13173
Date Publish Online
2021-03-24