Project ADI is a healthcare initiative with the primary focus on reversing Iron Deficiency Anaemia (IDA) in women from rural India. As a pilot, we are working with migrant construction workers (women) who hail from rural parts of India and travel to urban cities like Pune in search of livelihood.

The project is a collaborative effort between SSI and Family planning Association of India (FPAI).

FPAI is an NGO that provides healthcare services to underserved communities and is instrumental in running the regular health camps at the construction site and providing the SSI team with relevant health data of the women beneficiaries.

• Pilot a replicable & sustainable model to reverse IDA in 55 women at the labour camp in Wagholi, Pune, Maharashtra.
• Demonstrate Multiplier effects on entire household (1 women x 4 in household).
• Agility to scale & deploy model pan India. The “dietary kit” approach coupled with digital technology will allow for servicing multiple target segments regarding multiple regional languages and dietary habits hence encouraging natural nutrition and health outcomes.

Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is a common nutritional problem, particularly for women of reproductive age in developing countries. Iron deficiency continues to be the leading single nutrient deficiency in the world, affecting more than two billion persons despite considerable efforts to decrease its prevalence over the past four decades In India, IDA prevalence in women has been reported to be in the range of 33 to 89% in different studies covering pregnant or non-pregnant women of childbearing age. Although the National Nutritional Anaemia Prophylaxis Program has been in operation since 1970, under which Iron and folic acid tablets are distributed to pregnant women, the evaluation of the program showed very minimal to no impact on the prevalence of IDA for various reasons including

• Poor access to good prenatal care.
• Insufficient and inconsistent supply of Iron supplements.
• Insufficient counselling on the need for and benefits of Iron supplements.
• Unwillingness by pregnant women to take Iron supplements.
• Other factors like malaria and worm infections prevalent in rural areas.

The public health approach of Iron fortification of food has had success in the USA in reducing the prevalence of IDA in women of reproductive age. In India, the central government has approved the distribution of fortified rice under all government schemes including mid-day meals and government ration shops.

Therefore, an alternative to supplementation is to increase the consumption of micronutrient-rich foods (green leafy vegetables) along with fortified rice and wheat.

Your donations will enable us to support more women and scale this initiative. Please reach out if you're interested in more information on how exactly your funds will be used.

Please use one of the following methods to donate to this cause. We can only accept donations from local indian accounts and NRE/NRO accounts. Donations are 80G detuctible, please contact us for the 80G receipt.

Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns. We can be reached at contact@socialseva.org and +91 9860073882.