Trends, regional disparities, and projected burden of anemia among women of reproductive age in Ghana, 2000-2030.

BACKGROUND

Anemia remains a significant public health concern among women of reproductive age (WRA) in Ghana, contributing to adverse health and socioeconomic outcomes. Despite national nutrition and malaria control interventions, progress has been modest with persistent regional disparities. This study assessed national and regional trends in anemia prevalence among WRA from 2000 to 2019, quantified regional inequalities, and forecasted national prevalence to 2030 to measure progress toward global reduction targets.

METHODS

Population-representative estimates of anemia among WRA were obtained from the WHO Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT) database. National and regional prevalence were analyzed using four inequality measures: difference (D), ratio (R), population attributable risk (PAR), and population attributable fraction (PAF). Time-series forecasting was conducted using an ARIMA (1, 1, 0) model to project prevalence from 2020 to 2030.

RESULTS

Anemia prevalence among WRA declined modestly from 47.8% in 2000 to 44.3% in 2019, a 3.5%-point reduction. The Ashanti region recorded the greatest decline (43.3% to 37.3%), while the Upper West region observed the highest increase (41.0% to 45.2%). Regional inequalities widened from 2000 to 2019 across several measures: D (18.1 to 22.2), R (1.5 to 1.6), and PAF (- 16.2 to - 18.4). ARIMA forecasting suggests a plateauing effect, with national prevalence projected to reach 43.6% (95% CI: 40.4-46.9) by 2030.

CONCLUSION

The modest decline in prevalence, coupled with widening regional inequalities and a projected plateau through 2030, indicates that current progress is insufficient to achieve WHO global targets. Addressing these gaps requires geographically targeted, multi-sectoral interventions, such as improving food storage infrastructure and integrating malaria control with nutritional counseling, to accelerate progress and ensure equitable health outcomes for WRA across all regions of Ghana.