The Food Policy Division of the Ministry of Public Health in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) will be seeking to raise awareness about anaemia, which has been found to affect almost 25% of Guyana’s children under five years and over 40% of its pregnant women.
This is part of the activities planned for Nutrition Awareness Week, which will be observed from July 19th to July 25th, 2015 under the theme, “Healthy Eating and Active Living: You, Your Health and Your Future” and will target pregnant teens in particular.
According to a statement from the Food Policy Division, a 2012 “Survey of Iron, Iodine and Vitamin A Status and Antibody Levels in Guyana” found that 24% of children under five years old, 20.8 % of school children and 41.3% of antenatal women were anaemic based on World Health Organisation (WHO) standards. Further, it noted that 51.0% of pregnant women with anaemia were 20 years old and younger.
The Division noted that anaemia is a major public health problem in both developing and developed countries and that in Guyana and the Caribbean it has been attributed to poor dietary intake and utilisation. Although there are other causes, it is most often a reflection of iron deficiency, which is the most common and widespread nutritional disorder in Guyana, it added.
According to the Division, anaemia can lead to a reduction in work capacity, endurance and impaired brain function. For adults, this can impair their ability to care for their families and carry out daily tasks, while for children it can affect learning.
To address the situation, the Food Policy Division said it will be conducting several anaemia awareness activities among the Guyanese population, including education and activity-based sensitisation sessions with pregnant teenagers.
It plans to conduct sessions with groups of pregnant teenagers from Region 4 from July 20th to July 21st and from July 23rd to July 24th, 2015 at the Ocean View International Hotel and Convention Centre.
It added that participants will be exposed to educational and practical sessions facilitated by the Food Policy Division and the Adolescent Health Unit of the Ministry of Public Health and the Women Across Differences (WAD) non-governmental organisation.
Topics for the sessions include “Safe Motherhood,” “Healthy Diet and Meal Planning,”
“Anaemia (including the use of Sprinkles),” “Early Childhood Development (focusing on Breastfeeding),” and Empowering Teens to Return to School.”
The sessions would be hosted from 8:30AM to 3:30PM daily.
