Ayush, Women & Child Ministries sign MoU to combat anaemia

New Delhi, February 26

The Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Ministry of Ayush signed an MoU on Monday in order to improve the nutritional status of adolescent girls (aged between 14-18 years) in the anaemia-prone districts—Dhubri (Assam), Bastar (Chhattisgarh), Paschimi Singhbhum (Jharkhand), Gadchiroli (Maharashtra) and Dhaulpur (Rajasthan).

The ministries will work towards leveraging traditional knowledge, promotion of wellness through joint yoga protocols and promotion of diet diversity.

Union Minister for Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal said the project, aimed at improving the nutrition status of around 94,000 adolescent girls, would cover approximately 10,000 anganwadi centres in the five anaemia-prone districts.

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani emphasised that introducing Ayush systems, backed by evidence from institutions like the ICMR, would offer cost-effective solutions to tackle anaemia.

Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, and Indevar Pandey, Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, were also present on the occasion.