What is the National Family Health Survey?

• The NFHS is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India.
• The survey provides state and national information for India on fertility, infant and child mortality, the practice of family planning, maternal and child health, reproductive health, nutrition, etc.
• The Ministry of Health has designated the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, as the nodal agency, responsible for providing coordination and technical guidance for the survey.

About National Family Health Survey-5

• The National Family Health Survey 2019-20 (NFHS-5), the fifth in the NFHS series, provides information on population, health, and nutrition for India and each state/union territory (UT). 
• NFHS-5 includes some new topics, such as preschool education, disability, access to a toilet facility, death registration, bathing practices during menstruation, and methods and reasons for abortion.

Key Findings

1) Child wasting

• States such as Telangana, Kerala, Bihar, and Assam as well as the UT of J&K have witnessed an increase.
• Others like Maharashtra and West Bengal have been stagnant

2) Share of Children Underweight

In the proportion of underweight children, big states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Assam and Kerala have seen an increase.

3) Infant Mortality Rate and Under 5 Mortality

• Infant Mortality Rate and Under 5 Mortality Rate data is mostly stagnant.
• Between NFHS-3 and NFHS-4, there was progress on mortality reduction but NFHS-5 and NFHS-4 are about five years apart still there is very little progress in many states.
• In Maharashtra, the under-5 mortality rate is basically the same in NFHS-4 and in Bihar, it reduced by just 3% over five years.
• Over 60% of child mortality is explained by child malnutrition, which is the central problem and needs to be addressed.

4) Fertility Rate

• India’s population is stabilizing, as the total fertility rate (TFR) has decreased across the majority of the states.
• The TFR across most Indian states declined in the past half-a-decade, more so among urban women, according to the latest NFHS-5.
• Sikkim recorded the lowest TFR, with one woman bearing 1.1 children on average; Bihar recorded the highest TFR of three children per woman.
• In 19 of the 22 surveyed states, TFRs were found to be ‘below-replacement’ which means a woman bore less than two children on average through her reproductive life.

5) Gaps in internet use

• In 2019, for the first time, the NFHS-5, which collects data on key indicators on population health, family planning and nutrition, sought details on two specific indicators: Percentage of women and men who have ever used the Internet.
• On average, less than 3 out of 10 women in rural India and 4 out of 10 women in urban India ever used the Internet, according to the survey.
  • First, only an average of 42.6 percent of women ever used the Internet as against an average of 62.16 per cent among the men.
  • Second, in urban India, an average 56.81 per cent women ever used the Internet compared to an average of 73.76 per cent among the men.
  • Third, dismal 33.94 per cent women in rural India ever used the Internet as against 55.6 per cent among men.
• In urban India, 10 states and three union territories reported more than 50 per cent women who had ever used the Internet: Goa (78.1%), Himachal Pradesh (78.9%), Kerala (64.9%), and Maharashtra (54.3%).
• The five states reporting the lowest percentage of women, whoever used the Internet in urban India were Andhra Pradesh (33.9%), Bihar (38.4%), Tripura (36.6%), Telangana (43.9%) and Gujarat (48.9%).

Why in News?

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released the Factsheets of key indicators on population, reproductive and child health, family welfare, nutrition and others for 22 States/UTs of the first Phase of the 2019-20 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) .

References:

1. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1680702
2. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/malnutrition-in-kids-worsens-in-key-states-2015-19-7103820/
3. http://rchiips.org/nfhs/NFHS-5_FCTS/FactSheet_MN.pdf