A Bottleneck Analysis of Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation Program in Pakistan

Iron and folic acid deficiency is a significant public health concern, especially in low and middle-income countries, particularly among women of reproductive age, leading to adverse maternal and child health outcomes. In Pakistan, approximately 41.7% of women of reproductive age have iron deficiency. For this research, we conducted 33 key informant interviews and 32 focus group discussions with stakeholders from all four provinces and the two federally administered regions of Pakistan for in-depth and representative bottleneck assessment. The modified Tanahashi model was used to inform the determinant codes and for coding reliability thematic analysis using NVivo 14. On the supply side, barriers relate to effective forecasting, procurement, and distribution of Iron Folic Acid supplements to the recipients. The demand-supply gap widened due to the supply bottlenecks, impacting the community's trust in the frontline health worker. These factors were gravely impacted by the governance challenges of ensuring sustainable funds, minimizing bureaucratic and procedural delays, and eliminating political pressure. Affordability of Iron Folic Acid and conservative social norms influenced the demand and awareness of Iron Folic Acid and nutritional knowledge among the target population. The stakeholder recommendations emphasize the need for intersectoral collaboration, mass media campaigns, frequent capacity building and incentivizing of healthcare workers, engagement of key community stakeholders, digitizing the health system, improvement in supply chain mechanism, and investment in small-scale innovative solutions.