Anaemia among women in India is a problem of major public health significance. Seventy per cent of women are anaemic in Jharkhand to 22.5 per cent in Mizoram.
India is fighting a huge battle of malnutrition, obesity and micronutrient deficiencies such as Vitamin A and zinc.
Against this backdrop, few states in the Northeast have overcome the battle against malnutrition among women to a large extent.
Reports stated that less than 10 per cent of women in Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur have low Body Mass Index (BMI).
Nagaland
and Meghalaya boasts of a lower malnutrition rate among women when
compared to the other states of India – only 12 per cent of its women
are malnourished.
In Sikkim, only 6.4 per cent of its women have
low BMI. The pertinent point is that while northeastern states where
malnutrition rates are low – Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and
Meghalaya – are tribal-dominated.
However, states such as
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha – which are also tribal belts – the
levels of nourishment among women are very less.
Access to
facilities and greater gender equality are the two reasons why these
northeastern states are way ahead than rest of India when it comes to
women’s malnutrition.
In these Northeastern states, women have
more access to improved sanitation facilities at the household level,
are better educated and are either self-employed or working (NFHS,
2015-16).
Sikkim and Mizoram is at the top of the heap when it
comes to households using improved sanitation facilities – 88 and 84 per
cent, respectively.
Seventy five per cent of households have
access to improved sanitation facilities in Nagaland. The literacy rate
is also high in the northeastern states – in Mizoram, 93.5 per cent of
women are literate, in Sikkim 87 per cent and in Manipur, 85 per cent.
Women
form a larger part of the labour force in the northeastern states when
compared to other states of India – one of the reasons why women in
these states have lower rates of malnutrition.
The northeastern
states are also doing a “good work” vis-à-vis increasing access to
maternal health services. The coverage of iron and folic acid
consumption increased massively from 18 to 54 per cent and the
proportion of women receiving at least four antenatal care visits
increased from 46 to 62 per cent in Mizoram from 2005 to 2015.
Meghalaya
has also seen a huge increase -iron and folic acid consumption among
pregnant women increased from 6 to 36 per cent, and in Manipur from 7 to
39 per cent.
In Meghalaya, ante-natal care coverage (at least
four antenatal visits) increased from 42.8 to 50, while in Manipur,
antenatal care coverage increased from 54 to 69 per cent.
Health
experts say that since the people of northeastern states eat pork, it is
one of the reasons why there is less malnutrition in the region.
However,
this conclusion seems slightly weak given that in Assam, the
malnutrition rate among women is one of the highest in the country, at
25.7 per cent women with low BMI, while 80 per cent of its women report
consuming fish, chicken or meat (NFHS-4).
More likely, the afford
ability of nutritious fruits, vegetables, pulses, dairy and meat results
in improved dietary diversity and therefore improved nutrition. Rises
in prices of these goods lead to a decline in dietary diversity.
Women
are the backbone of the health of society. Political parties must focus
on women’s health and empowerment, so that they can achieve better
health for the entire population and subsequently an
improved economy.
