TheJakartaPost
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Indonesia fighting against anemia
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Nutritionist recommends that you prepare and cook your own meals at home. (Shutterstock/File)
C
onfronting the high prevalence of complications in pregnancy and childbirth among women, Indonesian stakeholders are promoting mineral supplements that may help prevent iron-deficiency anemia.
Believed to be effective in preventing anemia, mineral supplements in fact are more effective in tackling iron deficiency if they are provided to women at a young age.
To support the Health Ministry’s efforts to prevent anemia among women, nutrition advocacy NGO Micronutrient Initiative has launched a program to campaign for the delivery of iron-rich foods to females, especially teenage girls.
“Currently, the national program to combat anemia is focused more on pregnant mothers. Considering the latest research, we are recommending preventive treatment of iron deficiency anemia in teenage girls,” Micronutrient Initiative maternal and child program officer Eriana Kartika Sari said recently.
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She said two regencies in West Java, namely Cimahi and Purwakarta, had piloted the group’s anemia prevention project for teenage girls.
Cimahi and Purwakarta have the quite high maternal mortality rates. Data from a 2016 survey later revealed the prevalence of anemia among teenage girls of junior and senior high school age in Cimahi and Purwakarta. The prevalence rate stands at 52 percent.
