THE ROLE OF HEALTH INFORMATION PACKAGE PROGRAMMES IN ANAEMIA MANAGEMENT DURING PREGNANCY

ABSTRACT Despite various intervention programmes put in place to reduce pregnancy anaemia in Ghana, there is still a report of high anaemia prevalence in pregnant women receiving antenatal care in Greater Accra of Ghana. Anaemia in pregnancy is a universal public health problem resulting in maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Antenatal care services alone cannot address anaemia risk in pregnancy, as such there is a need to develop effective health promotion and preventive strategies to reduce anaemia and its associated complications in pregnant women. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Health Information Package Programmes (HIPP) in anaemia management during pregnancy. Although there are several ways to conduct interventions to reduce anaemia in pregnancy, the study focused on four key components thus; health worker education, nutrition education, use of contraceptives and Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), through effective educational strategies to help increase service providers and pregnant women’s knowledge concerning anaemia in pregnancy. Furthermore, the study seeks to promote awareness of better nutrition, infection prevention and family planning, leading to anaemia reduction in pregnancy.