Bhubaneswar, Nov 23 (IANS): Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday launched AMLAN (Anaemia Mukta Lakhya Abhiyan) -- a multi-pronged approach for accelerated reduction of anaemia among targeted groups.

Launching the programme on a virtual platform, the Chief Minister said it is the state's own programme for making the state free from anaemia, especially women and children.

The programme will be carried out by several departments including Health & Family Welfare, School & Mass Education, Women & Child Development, Mission Shakti and ST & SC Development.

The programme will benefit about 1.37 crore people, which includes pregnant women, lactating mothers, women of reproductive age group, adolescents and children, he said.

Patnaik further said that the major interventions under the programme are strengthening iron and folic acid supplementation, testing for haemoglobin, treatment of anaemic cases, capacity building of service providers and social behaviour change communication.

This programme will be rolled out in 55,000 government and government-aided schools and 74,000 Anganwadi Centres across the state, he informed.

"All our endeavours are focussed on the principle that every life is precious. The state government has prioritised development of the health sector in our state," said the Chief Minister.

With intensive focus on public health schemes, Odisha has shown improvement in many health indicators like immunisation, infant mortality rate, maternal mortality ratio, infant and young child feeding practices, and under-nutrition.

However, anaemia remains a major public health challenge across the country, he added.

The Chief Minister urged the concerned departments and on-field service providers to work in a concerted manner for successful implementation of AMLAN for achieving Anaemia Mukta Odisha.

On this occasion, Patnaik also released the operational guidelines for AMLAN.