Addressing anaemia amongst adolescents

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt of India is launching the Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation for Adolescents (WIFSA) Programme to address high prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia amongst adolescents, especially adolescent girls. Under this programme, a dose of weekly consumption of iron tablets containing 100mg elemental iron and 500ug of Folic Acid will be provided to adolescent girls and boys in government schools, and adolescent girls who are not in school. WIFSA will also supplement this with bi-annual (Aug/Feb) de-worming, along with information and counseling for improved dietary intake. The distribution amongst out of school adolescent girls will be through ICDS and Aanganwaadi Centres. For school-going adolescents (girls and boys), the Education Department will be the channel for government schools, and social marketing for private schools. 

 Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has requested United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to provide technical support for developing a comprehensive strategy to support the launch of the Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation for Adolescents (WIFSA) Programme. Specialized support is required to develop communication strategy, specifically for (i) branding and product positioning, (ii) product packaging and launch campaign, and (iii) mechanism for strengthening distribution and monitoring.