Why the Govt’s Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation Programme won’t produce desired results (Exclusive interview with Dr A.K.Susheela)

On Jul 17, a Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation Programme was launched with good pushing – full-page journal ads and a works that any supervision intrigue has. However, shortly thereafter children holding a supplements started descending ill. While there competence be no swindling here and it could simply be a box of a few wandering sinister tablets or high dosages – there’s one organization that believes that a programme has vicious stipulations in a systematic context. The Fluorosis Research and Rural Development Foundation, an NGO dedicated to eradicating fluorosis – a illness caused by expenditure of fluoride  believes that systematic motive is absent in this stream supervision programme.Prof (Dr) AK Susheela, a former AIIMS anatomy highbrow and a executive of a substructure calls a programme ‘old booze in a new bottle’. We talked to her to pointer a conditions and because she thinks this desirous supervision devise is doubtful to furnish a preferred results:

Why is a substructure opposite a Iron and Folic Acid supplementation programme?

Dr Susheela: We are not opposite iron supplementation in ubiquitous and it is really most compulsory for profound women though a fact is that identical programs have been attempted for over 40 years and haven’t constructed preferred results. Women continue to be sickly and there’s no pointer of maternal and tot mankind shortening and even those holding tablets continued to be anaemic. The doctors (technical advisers) to a health method claimed that a women weren’t holding tablets though this was usually a face-saving plan and they’re doing some-more mistreat than good. One of a vital reasons for continued anaemia is a continued expenditure of fluoride by H2O and food. The chemical fluoride not usually decreases prolongation of red blood cells by a bone pith though also destroys microvilli – a little protrusions backing a intestine – ensuing in bad fullness of nutrients vicious for a biosynthesis of haemoglobin.

 Have we finished any studies to behind adult your claims?

We conducted a laboratory-cum-hospital formed investigate that screened over 3000 profound women by antenatal clinics in dual New Delhi supervision hospitals. Sample and control (both) organisation of women continued to take their tablets, while in a representation organisation we took several stairs to diminution fluoride expenditure and urge nourishment intake. We did so by editing a diet, providing diet counselling to urge breakfast, lunch and cooking and even altered their toothpaste to a low fluoride paste.

We continued to guard a profound women during their visits and monitored them until their delivery. Following a involvement a babies innate in a representation organisation (those who consumed reduction fluoride), 80-90% had babies who weighed between 2.5 and 3.89 kg, an best birth weight.

Did we exam this supposition on children as well?

After we published a rough information in Current Science (May 2010), we motionless to work on anaemia in schoolchildren. Over 2500 children were screened in 6 schools for anaemia. Rates sundry from 30% to 80%. When we followed a same steps, i.e, withdrew fluoride and promoted nutritious food we managed to lift a haemoglobin levels in children from 12 g/dl to 14.4 g/dl simply by breakfast, lunch and cooking (we avoided travel food to forestall fluoride consumption). Again we saw a same formula as before, that elementary diet changes and counselling went a prolonged proceed in improving a child’s health. And we prepared their mothers as well, training them nutritive recipes for breakfast, lunch and cooking that helped a whole family.  In any box no supplementation programme can work prolonged term. Given income people will always buy food to feed their families, never buy tablets.

What are a flaws with a stream supplementation programme?

The initial mistake is not screening for anaemia or a turn of a haemoglobin. They’re giving equal dose of iron tablets to all including a children who’re not anaemic. The chances are that children who’re not sickly will conflict adversely to a overdose and tumble ill.

What choice would we suggest?

A elementary step would be scaling adult a stream proceed and educating people about nutrition. We are formulation to sight 1400 propagandize teachers in Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation on how to urge a child’s health though tonics or tablets in a 3^rd week of August.

 We’ve also sensitive a supervision of a stream problems of fluoride consumption. As prolonged as a expenditure is high (which can be tested by measuring fluoride in urine), no volume of tablets is going to solve anything. Withdrawal of fluoride on a other palm permits a metamorphosis of microvilli in a tummy that improves a fullness of nutrients from a diet and haemoglobin levels improve.

The justification is there for a systematic community, bureaucrats and policymakers, though no one has reproduced it nationally or globally. They’re simply not peaceful to accept a truth. The stream supervision is in a state of faint like Rip Van Winkle (the male from Kipling’s brief story who fell defunct for 20 years to find that universe has totally changed) and I’m fearful that we too are in for a identical fate. 

Why the Govt’s Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation Programme won’t produce desired results (Exclusive interview with Dr A.K.Susheela)