Webinar question: What promising practices or evidence-based approaches have been effective in addressing adolescent anaemia?

A recent systematic review (Salam et al. Effects of Preventive Nutrition Interventions among Adolescents on Health and Nutritional Status in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients, 2020) looked at micronutrient supplementation interventions, including iron with or without folic acid, among adolescents in low- and middle-income countries. Effects of iron supplementation (with or without folic acid) on anemia were inconclusive, but potential improvements in hemoglobin concentrations were noted. The delivery platform was school-based, which is an important means of reaching adolescents with nutrition interventions (though out-of-school adolescents should not be left behind). Overall, this review highlights the dearth of evidence on which to base micronutrient supplementation policies and progams for adolescent boys and girls.