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Community Mobilization and Social Marketing to Promote Weekly Iron-Folic Acid Supplementation in Women of Reproductive Age in Vietnam: Impact on Anemia and Iron Status |
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| Authors: | Jacques Berger Hoang Thi Kim Thanh Tommaso Cavalli-Sforza Suttilak Smitasiri Nguyen Cong Khan Silvano Milani Pham Thuy Hoa Nguyen Dinh Quang Fernando Viteri |
| Affiliation: | Senior Researcher, Institute of Research for Development (IRD), Research Unit, "Nutrition, Food, Societies," Montpellier, France;Institute of Nutrition, Hanoi, Vietnam;World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office, Manila, Philippines;Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand;UNICEF, Hanoi, Vietnam;Institute of Medical Statistics and Biometrics, Milano, Italy;University of California, Berkeley and Children's Hospital, Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California, USA. |
| Abstract: | The community mobilization and social marketing program promoting a preventive approach of weekly iron-folic acid supplementation in women of reproductive age improved iron status of non-pregnant women in Vietnam. Three to six months of weekly pre-pregnancy supplementation and regular weekly intake of supplements during pregnancy allowed women to achieve good iron and hemoglobin status during the two first trimesters of pregnancy. In the third trimester, iron deficiency and anemia were notably present but low birth weight prevalence was low. This demonstrates the effectiveness and safety of the preventive approach as implemented here to prevent and control iron deficiency and anemia in women of reproductive age before and during pregnancy. |
| Keywords: | anemia weekly iron-folic acid supplementation community mobilization reproductive age women social marketing |