Institute to help tackle anaemia in garment sector

With more than 2 lakh women employees in the garment sector in Bengaluru suffering from anaemia, the Asian Research and Training Institute for Skill Transfer (ARTIST), a Bengaluru-based institute, has collaborated with the State government to tackle the issue at the  micro level.

 As part of the programme, over the next 100 days, women workers would be screened for anaemia by the staff of ESI Hospitals across Bengaluru. ARTIST will deploy its ‘point of care’ equipment at screening centres to capture data on health parameters of women undergoing tests. On the basis of test results, oral or injectable iron will be administered to anaemic factory workers at ESI Hospitals in Bengaluru.

“Though the problem of iron deficiency anaemia appears simple, it is widely prevalent in over 60 to 69% women employed in the industrial sector. Unfortunately, women do not realise that they are anaemic. We have to tackle this issue with sincere efforts,” said Dr Hema Divakar, chairperson, ARTIST.

 “If we administer iron to lady workers in garment factories, for the next 10 years at least, they will not suffer from anaemic conditions. We intend to roll out this programme in March,” added Dr Hema.

The programme will be monitored by a committee comprising Additional Chief Secretary, Labour Department, P B Ramamurthy; Joint Director of Factories (Medical), Department of Factories, Boilers, Industrial Safety and Health, Dr Surendra, and Director, ESIC Medical Services Director, Dr V Sridevi.