60pc infants suffer from iron deficiency anaemia

Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: More than 60 percent of infants from 6 to 24 months in Pakistan were suffering from iron deficiency anaemia which globally was impairing the mental development of 40-60 percent of the developing world’s children said Inspector General Hospitals Ministry of Health Dr Abdul Majid Rajput.

Addressing the launching ceremony of Baby Active, baby friendly micronutrients by Good Life, a non profit organisation Monday, he said iron deficiency also weakened the immune system of small children.

Dr Rajput said “Most of food supplement available in the market are deficient and can not fulfil the needs of small kids. Some of the products do not contain iodine and it affects the health of kids.”

Addressing the ceremony GM Good-Life Asif Jah said proper iron intake was most important during infancy (6-24 months) than any other stage of life and anaemia during infancy results in poor cognitive and delayed motor development (which may not be reversible) and decrease resistance to illness and diseases.

He said infants aging 6-24 months were traditionally weaned on a low nutrition, starch based porridge, without the diversity of iron rich foods (mostly meat) needed to prevent anaemia in Pakistan. “In fact, worldwide it is difficult for dietary sources alone to provide the iron an infant needs and for decades giving infants iron drops was the intervention to treat and prevent infant and child anaemia.

However, compliance had always been low due to bad taste, teeth staining and inconvenience for parents to administer.

Brand Manager Amir Nehal said Baby Active was composed of encapsulated iron granules to mask the metallic taste of the iron plus other micronutrients (Vitamin A, C, D, zinc, folic) that enhance iron absorptions as well as address other iron deficiencies. Baby Active was easy to use by simply mixing into infant’s weaning porridge. It did not affect the colour, taste or smell of the food. It’s launched at a highly affordable price of Rs 2 per sachet.

Good-Life is partner of Green-Star Social marketing which is a nationwide non profit organisation that works to reach low income Pakistanis with health communications and affordable, quality health products and services. Green-star’s international partner is Population Services International, a non profit based in Washington DC, with health programmes in 65 countries around the world.

In order to approach the issues of family health in an integrated manner, it has decided to expand into other areas of health particularly MNCH, TB, Malaria and STI/AIDS.

Good-Life has been working as a sister company to offer all the non FP/RH health products and services. Good-Life has been helping to achieve millennium development goals that call for reducing child mortality by two-thirds and reducing MMR by three quarters by the year 2105. Currently Pakistan is one of the poorest performing countries within South Asia on MMR and IMR.