A close reading of the NFHS-5, the health of India
3 years ago

A close reading of the NFHS-5, the health of India

The Hindu  

The national health and demographic report card is finally completely out. For now, we need to appreciate the progress, especially given the abysmal state of India’s health infrastructure, which has been tragically apparent since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Editorial | Measuring progress: On the lessons of National Family Health Survey-5 To gauge this, the key metric to examine would be the sex ratio at birth. Anaemia and malnutrition A key health indicator that has worsened is the incidence of anaemia in under-5 children, women and men in all States of India. The data for the second phase of NFHS-5 have been, to a large extent, collected during the highly unusual conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, but as the evidence on anaemia shows, the deterioration in public health indicators cannot be attributed entirely to the pandemic.

Health India Tamil Nadu Odisha Kerala Sex Maharashtra States National Indian Survey Covid Srb Phase Phase 2 Nfhs Nfh Nhfs  pradesh  states  reading  india  health  nfhs5  close  phase  national  covid19  srb  worsening  survey  sex

History of this topic

Hospital beds, specialists: Why health takes centre stage in Maharashtra's poll promises
1 month ago

Hospital beds, specialists: Why health takes centre stage in Maharashtra's poll promises

India Today  

Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 has a flood of poll promises in the field of healthcare. The National Profile 2023 shows that Maharashtra has the lowest number of government hospitals in terms of per capita population and the number of beds for every lakh population in the state is almost equal to that in Bihar. While Himachal Pradesh has 222 beds …

India’s neonatal burden and the challenges ahead
7 months, 2 weeks ago

India’s neonatal burden and the challenges ahead

Hindustan Times  

India is home to the largest population in the world. Subsequently, massive emphasis has been laid on reducing child mortality burden – under 5 mortality rate has decreased from improved from 109 deaths per 1,000 live births during 1990s to 42 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019-21, according to the National Family Health Surveys. It has been promising to …

The rise of C-sections reflects a booming birth business
1 year, 1 month ago

The rise of C-sections reflects a booming birth business

Live Mint  

Contrary to popular belief, the term ‘Caesarean section’ is not directly named after Julius Caesar, although he is thought to have been born through this procedure. The disproportionately high numbers in some states raise concerns about a potential institutionalized C-section trend among private hospitals that might be driven by factors beyond medical necessity. A study published in Lancet found that …

The many challenges of ensuring maternal and child health in India
1 year, 4 months ago

The many challenges of ensuring maternal and child health in India

The Hindu  

As yet another World Breastfeeding Week commences, with hectic educational activity around the mother and her newborn, it would seem the best time to bring attention to what needs to be done in the field of maternal and child healthcare. In India, a total of 1,382 women were polled on the question: “Do you think most pregnant women in the …

More than 90 million Indians spend ‘catastrophic’ 10-25% of household expenses on healthcare
1 year, 5 months ago

More than 90 million Indians spend ‘catastrophic’ 10-25% of household expenses on healthcare

Hindustan Times  

Healthcare expenditure of around 90 million Indians has crossed the ‘catastrophic’ levels – a state of financial condition where health spending exceeds 10% threshold of household consumption, posing a threat to maintain the subsistence needs. According to the Sustainable Development Goals National Indicator Framework Progress Report 2023, a total of 31 million people living in families spend more that a …

Can the new Diet and Biomarker Survey trace the roots of India’s anaemia problem?
1 year, 6 months ago

Can the new Diet and Biomarker Survey trace the roots of India’s anaemia problem?

The Hindu  

The Union Health Ministry is rethinking how it takes stock of anaemia across the country. Instead, anaemia’s prevalence will be tracked using the new Diet and Biomarkers Survey, launched in December last year by the National Institute of Nutrition, which will “map the diet, nutrition and health status and provide a correct estimate of anaemia among urban and rural population …

India looks at devising its own standards to assess socio-economic progress
1 year, 6 months ago

India looks at devising its own standards to assess socio-economic progress

The Hindu  

Health activists are divided about the Central Government’s move to discard what it calls the one-size-fit-all international data parameters used to measure the socio-economic progress of the country. Central Government has cited three widely used data-driven development indicators — childhood stunting, female labour force participation rate by International Labour Organization and life expectancy at birth by United Nations in its …

Explained | Why is India rethinking its anaemia policy?
1 year, 6 months ago

Explained | Why is India rethinking its anaemia policy?

The Hindu  

The story so far: Questions related to anaemia are slated to be dropped from the National Family Health Survey scheduled to begin on July 6. According to the World Health Organization, anaemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells or the haemoglobin concentration within them is lower than normal. According to the Health Ministry, assessment of …

Sixth NFHS to begin in June
1 year, 7 months ago

Sixth NFHS to begin in June

Hindustan Times  

Mumbai: Preliminary work for the sixth round of the National Family Health Survey has begun, Dr Rajiv Bahl, secretary of department of health research and director general of Indian Council of Medical Research, announced. “The field survey will be launched in June, and by the next year we will have the results,” said professor KS James, director of the institute …

A heartening health update
2 years, 3 months ago

A heartening health update

Hindustan Times  

The latest report of National Health Accounts — it has data for 2018-19 — shows that India continues to make progress towards reducing the burden of health spending on household budgets. This is a heartening development because the poor are more likely to gain when government spending rather than private health insurance brings about a reduction in OOP spending. As …

Data | Burden of family planning falls on women in India, female sterilisation widely preferred
2 years, 5 months ago

Data | Burden of family planning falls on women in India, female sterilisation widely preferred

The Hindu  

Awareness of family planning and contraceptive methods has seen an increase, according to NFHS-5. But the data also shows that 24% of women don’t find family planning necessary. Further, the knowledge of contraception is not fully bridging the gap in women’s family planning need - a trend seen across States Knowing your options The chart shows the awareness of select …

Key indicators from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-21 factsheet
2 years, 7 months ago

Key indicators from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-21 factsheet

Hindustan Times  

The National Family Health Survey 2019-21, the fifth in the NFHS series, provides information on population, health, and nutrition for India and each state/Union Territory. The NFHS-5 sample has been designed to provide national, state/UT, and district level estimates of various indicators covered in the survey. As in the earlier rounds, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of …

Health Matters: Trained Midwives are the Only Answer to India’s Epidemic of C-section Childbirths
2 years, 7 months ago

Health Matters: Trained Midwives are the Only Answer to India’s Epidemic of C-section Childbirths

News 18  

There were times, not far back, when the birth of children via C-section used to be an anomaly. The latest National Family Health Survey data shows the rate of C-section deliveries increased from 17% in 2015-16 to 22% in 2019-21. From 4 lakh C-section deliveries in public health facilities in 2008-09, the number escalated to 19 lakh deliveries in 2019-20, …

Measuring the change: The Hindu Editorial on reliability of socio-economic surveys
2 years, 7 months ago

Measuring the change: The Hindu Editorial on reliability of socio-economic surveys

The Hindu  

The fifth edition of the National Family Health Survey provides a valuable insight into changes underway in Indian society. When highlights were made public last year, the focus was on India’s declining total fertility rate that had, for the first time in the country’s history, dipped to below the replacement level, or a TFR of 2.1. If the trend were …

Lower Fertility Rate, Anaemia on the Rise: Findings From NFHS-5
2 years, 7 months ago

Lower Fertility Rate, Anaemia on the Rise: Findings From NFHS-5

The Quint  

Contraceptive use has gone up The highlight of the survey has been the positive up tick in modern contraceptive usage. Only 50.7 percent of women in the lowest wealth quintile used modern contraceptives, compared to 58.7 percent of women in the highest quintile. What it means: The onus of family planning still heavily leans on women, and far from modern …

Fertility falls, obesity goes up in India , says National Family Health Survey
2 years, 7 months ago

Fertility falls, obesity goes up in India , says National Family Health Survey

The Hindu  

The Total Fertility Rate, an average number of children per woman, has further declined from 2.2 to 2.0 at the national level between National Family Health Survey 4 and 5. There are only five States in India which are above replacement level of fertility of 2.1 — Bihar, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand Manipur — as per the national report of …

International Day of the Midwife: The Missing Piece in India’s Maternal Health
2 years, 7 months ago

International Day of the Midwife: The Missing Piece in India’s Maternal Health

The Quint  

India has never been closer to realising the Sustainable Development Goal of 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. Positive strides in maternal health that have saved the lives of millions of girls, children and women are reflected in a progressively declining Maternal Mortality Ratio from 130 to 103 per 100,000 – a notable 21% reduction. Against one …

India registers fewer births in pandemic year: CRS data
2 years, 7 months ago

India registers fewer births in pandemic year: CRS data

Hindustan Times  

New Delhi: The number of births registered in the Civil Registration System declined 2.4% on 2020, and the number of deaths increased 6.2%, according to data released by the Union ministry of home affairs on Tuesday. Given the trend in births and deaths registered in CRS over the years, the decline in birth rate can be explained by fewer births …

Needed, a public health data architecture for India
3 years ago

Needed, a public health data architecture for India

The Hindu  

In a country perennially thirsty for reliable health data, the National Family Health Survey is like an oasis. Each survey costs upwards of ₹250 crore and the funding for different rounds of NFHS has been provided by the United States Agency for International Development, the Department for International Development, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF, the United Nations Population …

Families in distress: Latest NFHS findings paint bleak picture
3 years ago

Families in distress: Latest NFHS findings paint bleak picture

The Hindu  

Towards the end of November 2021, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released two interesting documents. The report on NHA claimed that the share of the government’s health expenditure in the total gross domestic product increased from 1.15 per cent to 1.35 per cent in 2017-18. Likewise, it said, the share of total government expenditure in total health expenditure …

Loss of income, rise in health expenses: How the Covid pandemic has made Indians poorer
3 years ago

Loss of income, rise in health expenses: How the Covid pandemic has made Indians poorer

India Today  

Sample these: 65.6 per cent households in lower-income countries reported financial reasons for not accessing healthcare during the pandemic; global poverty rates have increased for the first time in decades; 9.7 crore additional people have been pushed to extreme poverty in 2020 due to Covid. “The global poverty rate has increased for the first time after the 1997-98 Asian financial …

Anaemia and malnutrition: A vicious cycle leading to child growth failure
3 years ago

Anaemia and malnutrition: A vicious cycle leading to child growth failure

India Today  

India has a history of neglect in breaking the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition. In India, every third child is under-weight or stunted and 19.3 per cent children are wasted, according to 2019-21 National Family Health Survey-5 data. However, malnutrition trends across states/UTs are alarming, with thirteen states showing a rise in stunting in children under five - the highest being …

Measuring progress: The Hindu Editorial on the lessons of National Family Health Survey-5
3 years ago

Measuring progress: The Hindu Editorial on the lessons of National Family Health Survey-5

The Hindu  

A periodic assessment of health and social development indicators is crucial for any country that is still clawing its way towards achieving ideal standards in the Human Development Index. While gender ratio has, for the first time, recorded more women per 1,000 men, gender ratio at birth in the last five years still underlines the persistence of a deep-rooted son …

National Family Health Survey says women outnumber men
3 years ago

National Family Health Survey says women outnumber men

The Hindu  

The fifth edition of the National Family Health Survey confirmed signs of a demographic shift in India. However, sex ratio at birth for children born in the last five years only improved from 919 per 1,000 males in 2015-16 to 929 per 1,000, underscoring that boys, on average, continued to have better odds of survival than girls. Editorial | Measuring …

T.N. ahead in reproductive, child health
3 years ago

T.N. ahead in reproductive, child health

The Hindu  

With significant improvements in several social and health parameters, when compared with the previous edition, the National Family Health Survey 5 seems to have set the State on its regular path ahead yet again, particularly in reproductive and child health. While the drastic reduction in vaccination rates during NFHS 4 was disconcerting for a State that is usually ahead of …

NFHS Survey: Fertility rate dips to 2.0; more than half women, children anaemic in 14 states, UTs
3 years ago

NFHS Survey: Fertility rate dips to 2.0; more than half women, children anaemic in 14 states, UTs

Firstpost  

The Centre has released the factsheets of key indicators on population, reproductive and child health, family welfare, nutrition and others for India as well as 14 states and UTs under phase two, of the 2019-21 NFHS-5 New Delhi: Anaemia among children and women continues to be a cause of concern, with more than half of them being found anaemic in …

More hospital births, but limited gains in childhood nutrition: National Family Health Survey-5
3 years ago

More hospital births, but limited gains in childhood nutrition: National Family Health Survey-5

The Hindu  

Births in institutional facilities, such as a hospital, improved by nearly eight percentage points but children who were either stunted or displayed signs of wasting only dropped by a maximum of three percentage points, shows a comparison of National Family Health Survey-5 and NFHS-4. While the increase in the use of modern contraceptive methods is heartening, an increase in female …

Economic Survey | ‘High out-of-pocket expenses for health can lead to poverty’
3 years, 10 months ago

Economic Survey | ‘High out-of-pocket expenses for health can lead to poverty’

The Hindu  

India has one-of-the highest level of Out-Of-Pocket Expenditures contributing directly to the high incidence of catastrophic expenditures and poverty, notes the Economic Survey. The Survey also underlines that OOPE for health increases the risk of vulnerable groups slipping into poverty because of catastrophic health expenditures. The Survey added that for enabling India to respond to pandemics, the health infrastructure must …

Latest NFHS data reveal high levels of anaemia across nation
3 years, 11 months ago

Latest NFHS data reveal high levels of anaemia across nation

The Hindu  

The recently released data of the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey offer little to feel optimistic about. In private health facilities, Caesarean births accounted for 63 per cent of all deliveries, while the corresponding figure for public health facilities was 26.6 per cent. In Andhra Pradesh, for instance, 52 per cent of children under three years were …

First phase of National Family Health Survey-5 shows startling trends in out-of-pocket health expenses
3 years, 11 months ago

First phase of National Family Health Survey-5 shows startling trends in out-of-pocket health expenses

Firstpost  

Despite swift advances in healthcare, Universal Health Coverage remains a distant dream for India. Image credit: Pixabay NFHS data reveals healthcare costs The Out-of-Pocket expenditure incurred by people while accessing public health services is on the rise. NFHS V data reveals that average out of pocket expenditure per delivery in a public health facility has risen in 10 states and …

Discouraging numbers: On National Family Health Survey 2019-20
4 years ago

Discouraging numbers: On National Family Health Survey 2019-20

The Hindu  

With a debilitating death toll and an economic recession, India has had among the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. But an express indication of the possible scale of the crisis can be gleaned from the data from the newly released National Family Health Survey 2019-20 which was conducted before the pandemic and its impact. In indicators related to women’s …

National Family Health Survey: As Covid swirls, lifestyle diseases rise in India
4 years ago

National Family Health Survey: As Covid swirls, lifestyle diseases rise in India

India Today  

One thing that the new National Family Health Survey has clearly established is that child health has suffered much in the last five years. The new official data, released by the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on December 12, is from the first phase of the 2019-20 round of India's official health data household survey. The data shows that most …

NFHS throws up a mixed bag for State
4 years ago

NFHS throws up a mixed bag for State

The Hindu  

The latest National Family Health Survey, conducted under the aegis of the Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare, has thrown up a mixed bag for the State. But, the sheer drop in universal immunisation figures and nutritional parameters — an increase in anaemia across all age groups, increase in wasting and stunting in children under five years — calls …

Mortality Rate of Infants, Those Under Five Years Dip in 18 States and UTs, Reveals National Health Survey
4 years ago

Mortality Rate of Infants, Those Under Five Years Dip in 18 States and UTs, Reveals National Health Survey

News 18  

Mortality rate among infants and those under five years of age fell in 18 states and union territories out of a total 22 surveyed, while 16 of them registered a rise in the percentage of under-five children who are underweight and severely wasted, according to the fifth National Family Health Survey. Thirteen states and UTs out of the 22 surveyed …

Healthcare Experts Welcome Decline in India's Child Mortality Rate, Advise on Quality Services to Newborns
4 years, 3 months ago

Healthcare Experts Welcome Decline in India's Child Mortality Rate, Advise on Quality Services to Newborns

News 18  

Welcoming the decline in India’s child mortality rate between 1990 and 2019, healthcare experts have advised that the number can be further brought down by providing quality essential health and nutrition services to every newborn. The infant mortality rate in India declined from 89 in 1990 to 28 last year, with the country registering 6,79,000 infant deaths last year, a …

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