Anemia refers to a reduction in red blood cells or hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is an iron-containing substance that gives the red color to the blood.

Category	Age	Prevalence of Anemia in India
Preschoolers	1-4 years	41%
School-age Children	5-9 years	24%
Adolescents	10-19 years	28%

When the anemia is severe, it may lead to weakness, easy fatigability, poor appetite, and reduced capacity for playing, exercising, and reading. Younger children may eat mud or soil, white-wash, paint, paper, chalk pencil, raw rice or lick dust, etc. Contact your pediatrician if you think your child has anemia. The most common reason for anemia in children is a lack of iron in the diet such as intake of excess animal milk.

All normal children must be started on iron medicine from 4 months of age. All children from 6 months to 5 years should be given iron syrup twice a week, regularly. Children 5–19 years should be given iron tablets once a week regularly.

All children between ages 1–19 years should be given the medicine for worms, called albendazole, twice a year. Bi-annual mass deworming for children is carried out on designated dates: 10th February and 10th August every year under the National Deworming Day Program.