Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has released the first phase of the 2019-20 National Family Health Survey 5 (NFHS-5) data. The NFHS is a large-scale multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India.
Highlights:
♦ All NFHS are conducted under the leadership of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India, and the International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS) in Mumbai is the institution of this node.
♦ IIPS was established in 1956 under the co-sponsorship of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, the Government of India and the United Nations (UN). It has now become the premier institute for population studies, training and research developing countries in Asia and the Pacific.
♦ Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the second phase of the investigation (covering the remaining states) was postponed, and the results are expected to be announced in May 2021.
♦ The data captured by NFHS-5 during 2014-19 is similar in content to NFHS-4 (2015-16), can be compared over time, and also indicates changes. It provides an indicator for tracking the country’s 30 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030.
♦ However, NFHS-5 includes some new topics such as preschool education, disability, toilet facilities, death registration, bathing habits during menstruation, and methods and causes of abortion. In 2019, NFHS-5 sought for the first time detailed information on the proportion of men and women who used the Internet.
Data Analysis:
Although sanitation conditions have improved and people have access to more fuel and drinking water, several states across the country have reversed roads and recorded deterioration in child malnutrition. The latest data capture the health status of the states before the pandemic. Some states have witnessed insignificant improvements or continued reversals in the four key indicators of malnutrition in children (under 5 years of age). The four key indicators are child stunting, child waste, the proportion of underweight children and child mortality. The data of these indicators are also used in multiple global indexes, such as the Global Hunger Index.
Child Stunting:
The most surprising reversal occurred in children with stunting, reflecting chronic malnutrition, and refers to the percentage of under-age children. Compared with any other factors, the developmental delay may have long-term adverse effects on children’s cognitive and physical development. Telangana, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra and West Bengal have seen an increase in stunting in children. Under normal circumstances, the reversal of stunting in children is a “great trouble”, and the level of stunting has not increased, because, with the development of stable democracies and economic development, all factors affecting children’s growth are improving.
Child Wasting:
It reflects severe malnutrition and refers to children who are underweight and tall. India has been wasting children. Telangana, Kerala, Bihar, Assam, and Jammu Kashmir did not decrease, but increased, while Maharashtra and West Bengal stagnated.
Children Underweight:
Among the underweight children, the number of children in major states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Assam and Kerala has increased.
Child mortality:
Infant mortality (the number of deaths per 1,000 live births for children under one year of age) and under-five mortality data are mostly stagnant. Between NFHS-3 (2005-05) and NFHS-4, progress has been made in reducing mortality, but NFHS-5 and NFHS-4 are separated by about five years. In many states, little progress has been made. In Maharashtra, the under-five mortality rate is the same in NFHS-4, and in Bihar, it has been reduced by only 3% in five years. Child malnutrition is the cause of over 60% of the child mortality rate. This is the central issue that needs to be resolved.
Urban-Rural Gender Gap In Internet Use:
In several states and labour union regions, there are urban-rural gaps and gender gaps in Internet use. On average, less than three in ten women in rural India and four in ten women in urban India have used the Internet Routine data: On average, 42.6% of women have used the Internet, while the average proportion of men is 62.16%. In urban areas of India, an average of 56.81% of women have used the Internet, while an average of 73.76% of men. In rural areas of India: 33.94% of women in rural areas of India have used the Internet, while the proportion of men is 55.6%. In rural India, the proportion of women who have used the Internet has dropped significantly.
