Anaemia is a widespread condition in India. The biggest cause is malnourishment and iron-poor diets. Though the best remedy is a good diet, anaemia has spawned a huge market for iron supplements, usually of the expensive variety (see box: Market slice).
A 2006 market survey by the Drug Action Forum-Karnataka (daf-k), an ngo campaigning, in their words, for rational drugs and policies, showed that cheaper versions of iron supplements are not available.
Ferrous fumarate tablets with a 200-mg strength, on the Union ministry of health and family welfare's list of essential drugs as an anti-anaemic, was not available because, at 13 paise a pop, manufacturers were not interested in producing it.
In the absence of this, and other cheap alternatives, doctors are forced to prescribe the few that are readily available
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Links:
[1] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/news/food-pills-best-source-iron
[2] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/vibha-varshney
[3] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/newspaper/down-earth
[4] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/malnutrition
[5] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/iron
[6] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/maternal-health
[7] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/drugs
[8] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/drug-industry
[9] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/child-health
[10] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/nutritional-diseases
[11] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/anaemia
[12] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/ngo
[13] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/india
[14] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/karnataka
[15] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/dharwad-d
