Knowledge and practices on childhood anaemia, thalassaemia and iron deficiency among mothers of children aged between 6 and 59 months in a suburban area of Sri Lanka.

The knowledge of anaemia and awareness of thalassaemia among mothers was poor. Very few mothers were aware of iron-rich food and feed it to their children. Despite being located in a thalassaemia-endemic region, very few knew that thalassaemia is a cause of anaemia and have got themselves screened for thalassaemia.