BHUBANESWAR : Hematologists have called for due recognition of the discipline and involvement of experts from the field in all national public health programmes. Hematologists, who came together at the two-day-long 6th annual conference of Eastern Hematology Group (EHG) and 12th annual conference of Odisha Hematology at Puri on Saturday, rued the omission of the discipline from the national programmes, despite blood disorders like anemia being major public health problems in the country.
“The government has launched an ambitious target to make Anemia Mukt Bharat. It is really surprising how such a programme on anemia is launched and executed without involvement of hematology, which is the primary discipline to deal with blood disorders. Similar injustice was meted out in case of sickle cell, thalasemia and hemophilia programmes,” said EHG secretary Prof RK Jena.
Despite long-term policies and programmes for eradicating anemia, the situation has not improved. In fact, the latest National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) has brought to the fore a grim reality that anemia rather than decreasing has increased among all sections – be they infants, children, adolescents, women and pregnant women, etc.
Anemia has important clinical aspects, which is being missed due to the thinking that it is a nutritional issue. Hematology has a key role in making the programme successful, Prof Jena said. “We have to consistently pursue with policymakers and agencies starting from National Medical Commission, Indian Council for Medical Research, Department of Biotechnology and Department of Science and Technology to involve hematology societies in various public health interventions,” he added.
The conference was virtually inaugurated by EHG President Prof Sarmila Chandra and attended by president of Indian Society of Hematology and Blood Transfusion Prof Haraprasad Pati, EHG joint secretary Dr Tuphan Kanti Dolai and president of Odisha Hematology Prof Niranjan Tripathy among others.