Stories
WATCH: What if fortifying salt could reduce the risk of birth defects?
August 19, 2026
Anaemia affects nearly half of all pregnant and lactating women in India, putting women and their babies at greater risk of poor health outcomes. Iron and folic acid (IFA) and calcium supplementation are important components of maternal nutrition care, but ensuring women consistently receive and take these supplements requires more than simply making them available.
This study examines a health systems strengthening implementation model designed to improve adherence to IFA and calcium supplementation among pregnant and lactating women in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. It explores how strengthening multiple areas of the health system — including supply chains, frontline worker capacity, service delivery, counselling and community engagement — can help address barriers to supplement use and support stronger maternal nutrition programming at scale.