FCM therapy to combat anaemia in Bihar: Minister

Patna: State health minister Mangal Pandey on Thursday launched ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) therapy to address the problem of anaemia in Bihar. This is the first time such therapy has been introduced by the govt in the state, although oral tablets and other related injections were administered earlier.

Pandey launched the initiative from Urja Stadium in the state capital.

He said the objective of the initiative is to eradicate the problem of anaemia among women in the state from its roots. He informed that the state currently has approximately 2 lakh FCM doses available and directed officials to immediately dispatch at least 300 injections to all districts.

On the first day, a total of 20 pregnant women from each district were administered the dose, taking the total number of beneficiaries to 760. “The govt's target is to ensure that within the next one month this facility reaches all districts and community health centres (CHCs), so that women in rural and remote areas do not have to travel long distances for treatment. Now they will be able to avail this facility at their own block level,” Pandey said.

He also appealed to public representatives to actively cooperate in the campaign and take it to every village by running a widespread awareness drive.

Officials from the department said the therapy will help curb the problem of anaemia in Bihar. According to National Family Health Survey-5 data, nearly 63% of pregnant women in Bihar were suffering from anaemia, and the figure was slightly higher in rural parts of the state, where 63.9% of pregnant women were affected, higher than the national average of 52%.

Officials said FCM will help rapidly reduce the anaemia burden as one high dose is sufficient to improve haemoglobin levels. People suffering from anaemia will not need to visit hospitals repeatedly. Health secretary Lokesh Kumar Singh said that generally during pregnancy iron sucrose injections were given to treat anaemia. He said that in the case of iron sucrose injections, multiple doses were required and it was observed that several women discontinued treatment midway. “However, one dose of FCM will be sufficient enough to deal with the health issue,” he added.

Apart from reducing hospital visits, the time required for administering FCM is also less than that needed for iron sucrose administration.