LET'S FIGHT ANEMIALET'S FIGHT ANEMIA

Developed by:Bhawana Thapaliya (WFP – Nepal)Ilaria Schibba (WFP – Nepal)Sanne Bakker (WFP – Nepal)Project Supervisor:Marco Cavalcante (WFP – Nepal)Technical Consultation:Katrien Ghoos (WFP – Regional Bureau for Asia)Lindsey Horton (WFP – Regional Bureau for Asia)Sanju Bhattarai (UNICEF – Nepal) Pradiumna Dahal (UNICEF - Nepal) Lakruwan Dassanayake (UNHCR - Nepal) Nini Gurung (UNHCR - Nepal) Salina Khatoon (UNHCR - Nepal)Illustrations and Design:The Image Creators P. Ltd.Translations:Bhawana Thapaliya (WFP – Nepal)Pushpa Sunuwar (WFP – Nepal)Project Management (WFP Nepal):Ilaria Schibba Kishor AryalKishor RaiPramila GhimirePushpa SunuwarSanne BakkerSubhash Singh Bhawana Thapaliya Jagdish Pant Kamal Dhungana Prabin Shrestha

Special Thanks to: Shrid DhungelAnusara Singhkumarwong Nicole Menage (WFP - Nepal) Hanaa Singer (UNICEF - Nepal) Craig Sanders (UNHCR - Nepal)

Meena is a little girl who lives in a village with her parents, her grandmother, her brother Raju and her baby sister Rani. Mithu the parrot is her best friend. She is friendly. She is not afraid to ask questions. She solves problems and shows you all the things a little girl can do.

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Gita is not in class today. Meena is curious to know what happened to Gita so she decides to visit her at home.

Teacher can we visit Gita and find out what

happened to her?

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Gita is not feeling well.

I do not have energy to go to school

nor to play.

How are you Gita?

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The health worker told us Gita has anemia.What happened to Gita?

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Teacher, what is anemia?

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In our body there are millions of red blood cells. They are very important. They bring oxygen to our body.

If the red blood cell size reduces or their number decreases you will suffer

from anemia.

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Anemia can have different causes. Let’s start talking about one of the main causes.

We can be anemic if we do not get enough iron.

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Iron is important to develop our body and brain and to keep us healthy and active.

And to fight diseases.

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Fish Mutton

Chicken

Eggs

Look at the delicious animal products rich in iron on the poster: meat, eggs, fish.

Oh! I see.

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There are also other food items that contain iron, such as millet, spinach, legumes, green leafy vegetables and a variety of different vegetables. But remember you should eat them together with iron-lover foods rich in Vitamin C. Otherwise your body will not be able to properly absorb iron.

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Children should not drink tea or coffee. Pregnant and lactating

mothers should also avoid these drinks because they can limit iron

absorption.

Some foods are enemies of iron and therefore their consumption should be avoided or limited.

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Pregnant and lactating women and children need more iron than other community members.

Therefore children and women have the priority in consuming

iron-rich foods.

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This is exactly what I did when Gita was a small baby and young child.

Breast milk contains good quantities of iron. It is very important to exclusively breastfeed babies for the first six months of life. After six months, on top of breast milk, infants need to receive also appropriately mashed foods rich in iron.

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Oh! This is why it is so important to stay healthy and to treat

other diseases.

However, anemia can also be caused by infectious diseases such as TB or worms infections.

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For example, worms can infest your body and consume your blood. But if you wear slippers, wash your hands with soap before eating, after going to the toilet and touching animals you will keep your body free from worms.

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Deworming Tablet

If you want to avoid worms in your body you should not forget to use latrines, keep your environment clean and keep animals away from the house. And don’t forget to take the deworming tablets provided by the health center every six months (for children between one and five years).

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What else can we do to fight against anemia?

You need to finish every spoon of Supercereal provided by WFP

because it is rich in iron.

Supercereal contains iron, just as meat and

lentils

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MNP

Also MNP sprinkles are really good for your health as they contain a lot of iron: they must be added to food for children aged 6 to 59 months.

1 full sachet per child every other day. The sachet needs to be mixed with semi-solid food that is ready for consumption.

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In addition, pregnant and lactating women should take daily iron tablets as instructed by the health workers and they should follow their recommendations.

I had never forgotten to take my iron tablets when I was

pregnant with you Gita.

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One week later Meena and the teacher visit Gita again. Gita is feeling much better!The teacher says that from now on they need to make sure to eat food rich in iron, vitamin C, and all the Supercereal. Wash their hands with soap and use the latrine. And always wear slippers!

Thank you so much teacher for giving us the information on anemia.

How are you feeling Gita?

I am already feeling much better.

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