Fifth Edition of National Family Health Survey

News: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released the fifth edition of the National Family Health Survey(NFHS).

Facts:

• NFHS: It was conducted after a gap of three years.It contains detailed information on population, health, and nutrition for India and its states and Union Territories.
• This is the Phase 1 of the survey conducted in 17 States and 5 Union Territories(UTs).Phase 2 of the survey will cover other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

Key Highlights:

• Increased malnutrition among children: Several States have reversed course and recorded worsening levels of child (under 5 years of age) malnutrition parameters such as child stunting; child wasting; share of children underweight and child mortality rate.
• More Indians are obese and anaemic: The survey has reported an increased share of men and women who were overweight or obese and anaemic (condition in which a person lacks enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to the body tissues).
• Jump in Vaccination: The survey has found considerable improvement in vaccination coverage among children aged 12-23 months across all States/UTs.
• Better household amenities The share of households having access to some basic amenities has increased in most of the states.
• Urban-Rural gender gaps in Internet use: There is an urban-rural gap as well as gender divide with respect to the use of the Internet.On an average, less than 3 out of 10 women in rural India and 4 out of 10 women in urban India ever used the Internet.
• Increase in bank accounts operated by women: The number of bank accounts that women not only hold but also operate themselves has increased dramatically over the past five years.