Haemoglobin Camp Starts

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Even the smallest detail makes a huge difference when it comes to our health.

A haemoglobin camp was started in Madhya Pradesh by our fellow there, Anju Singh. Now we have a baseline of data to keep track of the level in children in the village. We can also monitor regularly what benefits will be derived by keeping kitchen gardens, as families will have vegetables to eat.

Haemoglobin is measured by a pin prick of blood from a finger. It is the protein molecule in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the body’s tissues and returns carbon dioxide from the tissues back to the lungs.

Low haemoglobin often indicates low levels of iron in the blood, an illness known as anaemia. Anaemia is a major public health problem in India. Also, although nearly three quarters of the Indian population live in rural areas, the epidemiology of anaemia in rural settings is not well known.