Anaemia in women high due to poverty, poor diet

Health officials in the central Kyrgyz province of Naryn say that the high prevalence of anaemia among women of child-bearing age in the area could result in a weakening of the national gene pool, citing poverty as the main cause of the problem. Daniyar Jumaev, head of the family health centre in the Naryn district of the province, told IRIN that up to 60 percent of such women suffered from the condition. Anaemia is the most common nutritional problem in the world and mainly affects women of child-bearing age, teenagers and young children. While it is not usually a threat in its own right, it may be an indication of a more serious underlying problem. "By far the most common form of the condition is caused by iron deficiency. Lack of iron prevents the bone marrow from making sufficient haemoglobin for the red cells. The cells produced are small and pale and have a reduced oxygen-carrying capacity," Jumaev explained. Aychurok Isaeva, a doctor at the family health centre in Naryn, the provincial capital, told IRIN that the consequences of anaemia were dramatic. "Women gave birth to children with anaemia and these children are mentally and physically retarded and their immunity is weak." Naryn province is home to some 270,000 people and the number of women of fertile age in the area is about 56,000, of which an estimated 34,000 suffer anaemia. Jumaev cited three main causes. "One is geographic - Naryn is a mountainous province, where vegetables and fruit are cultivated in small amounts. Second, there is no healthy nutrition culture. But the primary cause is economic - people simply can't buy healthy food like fruit and vegetables." According to official statistics, more than 80 percent of the provincial population lives below the national poverty line. "People are basically engaged in cattle farming. Therefore, the diet is mainly meat-based. We advise them how to eat more healthily, but traditions her are strong," Sayrabubu Asanova, head of the family group practitioners in Kulanak village located along the main road to Naryn town, told IRIN. "We help them to improve nutrition, explain to mothers how to feed babies. But this advice has not turned out to be effective so far. So we have tried providing them with anti-anaemia pills, but these are expensive in the quantities required," Asanova said. Meanwhile in an effort to tackle the issue, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is implementing a national reproductive health, maternal and childcare programme. "The UNFPA provides assistance to family planning centres. We also pay a monthly salary of US $13 to outreach health workers. There are 29 of them in Naryn province," Cholpon Asambaeva, UNFPA Human Security Trust Fund Project manager, told IRIN. "The health workers identify anaemia among the population and send those people to family health centres." However, the solution to tackling anaemia was poverty reduction, Jumaev maintained. "It is necessary to boost the economy so that people can afford decent food," he said.