Objective: To summarize anaemia prevalence data for children, women, and men using data
from the second, third and fourth waves of the Indonesia Family Life Surveys (IFLS), which
were conducted in 1997/8, 2000, and 2007/8, respectively. Methods: Anaemia prevalence was
determined for children 0 to 5 years, 5 to 12 years, 12 to 15 years, non-pregnant women at least
15 years, pregnant women at least 15 years, and men at least 15 years, based on haemoglobin
adjusted for altitude and smoking status. Results: Compared with 1997/8 estimates, anaemia
prevalence estimates were lower in 2007/8 for all groups, with the greatest relative decline
occurring in children 5 to 12 years (25.4%). Trend analysis found anaemia significantly declined
over the survey years for all groups (?² p=0.005 for pregnant women, ?² p<0.001 for all other
groups). Discussion and Conclusions: IFLS anaemia estimates for different population groups
decreased between 1997/8 and 2007/8 and were consistent with estimates from Southeast Asia,
and with other studies conducted in Indonesia. While the prevalence of anaemia consistently
decreased in all groups, anaemia remains a moderate public health problem for children 0 to 5
years, children 5 to 12 years, and non-pregnant and pregnant women.