Sarita Devi, a Sahiya community health worker in Khunti district, Jharkhand

Sarita is on a mission
for healthier childhoods
in Khunti, India

In India, Sahiyas are frontline health workers carrying a remarkable share of the country's public health infrastructure. These women live in the communities they serve, providing treatment and education to their neighbors. They're often the only consistent link between health programs and families in remote or underserved areas.

Sarita Devi is one of these Sahiyas. She helps prevent childhood anemia by distributing iron and folic acid supplementation as part of Evidence Action's Equal Vitamin Access program. Sarita's work helps determine the health and future of the children in her community.

Why This Matters: Scale of Childhood Anemia in India

Iron deficiency anemia is a leading cause of childhood malnutrition and disability. It is one of the most common, and preventable, childhood health conditions in India, with some of the highest rates concentrated in areas like Khunti. Anemia robs children of their energy, weakens their immune systems, and undermines the development they need to learn and grow.

The treatment is simple — weekly iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation — and costs just pennies per dose. Getting those weekly doses into the hands and mouths of young children across vast rural communities is far more complex.

Evidence Action's Equal Vitamin Access program partners with the government to provide weekly IFA supplementation to children aged 6 months to 19 years old at community health centers and in schools.

<$0.50
To provide a child with IFA supplementation for an entire year
13M → 26M
Children and adolescents reached with full IFA coverage, 2022–2024
Learn more about Equal Vitamin Access →
Sarita Devi speaking with a mother at her doorstep during a home visit in Khunti district
Families were skeptical at first — but Sarita kept going, patiently addressing fears and correcting misconceptions

For children under five, IFA isn't distributed at school as it is for older kids. It happens through home visits by workers like Sarita and Anganwadi Centers, community-based hubs that provide nutrition, early childhood education, and health services to young children and mothers. During these visits, Sarita sits with mothers and caregivers and explains why this small bottle of IFA syrup matters for their child's future.

At first, Sarita was met with skepticism, with some families refusing to open their doors and others holding misconceptions about side effects. But she kept going — patiently addressing fears, correcting misunderstandings, and explaining the health benefits.

Sarita Devi recording data in her register, tracking children who have received IFA syrup
Sarita tracks every dose of IFA given to the children in her community

Sarita keeps careful records of every child receiving IFA syrup and feeds this data into district and state monitoring systems. This functions as a tool for accountability and proof that the program is making a difference.

Sarita Devi with a mother and child, reviewing IFA supplementation materials during a home visit in Khunti
Sarita explains to families why IFA supplementation matters for their children's health and development

Her persistent engagement helps families understand why IFA supplementation matters — not as an abstract health recommendation, but as something connected to whether their children have the energy to play, the focus to learn, and the resilience to stay healthy.

Reaching young children at home requires navigating a web of logistical, informational, and interpersonal challenges that no single policy change can solve.

It takes people. It takes Sarita.

A young child playing in a hammock, smiling, in Khunti district
This intervention helps these children grow up happier and healthier

Slowly, things began to change. Children who once struggled with low energy and slow development are now playing, learning, and thriving more. Former skeptics are now Sarita's strongest advocates — mothers who had turned Sarita away now remind their neighbors when it's time for their child’s next dose.

"It brings me great joy to guide mothers on the importance of iron supplementation... Sharing this knowledge with my community is deeply fulfilling."
— Sarita Devi, Sahiya, Khunti District in Jharkhand, India
Sarita Devi with a mother, grandmother, and toddler receiving IFA syrup during a home visit in Khunti district
In Jharkhand and across Evidence Action's partner states, women like Sarita are the reason this work reaches children

What Your Support Makes Possible

Evidence Action works with the governments of India and Malawi to improve and develop anemia prevention programs. We provide wraparound technical assistance to fix supply chains, train health care workers, improve data systems, and build the kind of capacity that supports sustained change.

In India, women like Sarita help ensure this health solution reaches the children who need it. Your investment supports the systems and the people behind them — ensuring that a proven, low-cost intervention actually reaches the tens of millions of children who need it.

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Evidence Action in India is represented through its in-country technical partner, EAII Advisors Private Limited