NFHS-5 National Report | 09 May 2022

Why in News?

Recently, the National Report of the 2nd phase of fifth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) was released.

• The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India.

What is the NFHS-5 Report?

• About:
  • It comprises detailed information on key domains of population, health and family welfare and associated domains like characteristics of the population; fertility; family planning; infant and child mortality; maternal and child health; nutrition and anaemia; morbidity and healthcare; women’s empowerment etc.
  • The scope of NFHS-5 is expanded in respect of the earlier round of the survey (NFHS-4) by adding new dimensions such as:
    • Death registration, pre-school education, expanded domains of child immunization, components of micro-nutrients to children, menstrual hygiene, frequency of alcohol and tobacco use, additional components of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), expanded age range for measuring hypertension and diabetes among all aged 15 years and above.
  • Thus, NFHS-5 provides information on important indicators which are helpful in tracking the progress of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the country.
  • The national report also provides data by socio-economic and other background characteristics; useful for policy formulation and effective programme implementation.
  • The NFHS-5 National Report lists progress from NFHS-4 (2015-16) to NFHS-5 (2019-21).
• Objective:
  • The main objective of successive rounds of the NFHS has been to provide reliable and comparable data relating to health and family welfare and other emerging areas in India.

What are the Key Highlights of the NFHS-5 National Report?

• Total Fertility Rate (TFR):
  • Overall:
    • The Total Fertility Rate (TFR), has further declined from 2.2 to 2.0 at the national level between NNFHS 4 and 5.
    • There are only five states in India which are above replacement level of fertility of 2.1. These states are Bihar, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Manipur.
      • Replacement level fertility is the total fertility rate—the average number of children born per woman—at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next, without migration.
• Highest and Lowest Fertility Rate:
  • Bihar and Meghalaya have the highest fertility rates in the country, while Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands have the lowest.
• Area wise:
  • In rural areas, TFR has declined from 3.7 children per woman in 1992-93 to 2.1 children in 2019-21.
  • The corresponding decline among women in urban areas was from 2.7 children in 1992-93 to 1.6 children in 2019-21.
• Community Wise:
  • Muslims’ fertility rate has seen the sharpest decline among all religious communities over the past two decades.

• Underage Marriages:
  • Overall:
    • National average of underage marriages has come down.
    • According to NFHS-5, 23.3% women surveyed got married before attaining the legal age of 18 years, down from 26.8% reported in NFHS-4.
    • The figure for underage marriage among men is 17.7% (NFHS-5) and 20.3% (NFHS-4).
• Highest Surge:
  • The rate has increased in Punjab, West Bengal, Manipur, Tripura and Assam.
  • Tripura has seen the largest jump in marriages for women from 33.1% (NHFS-4) to 40.1%, and from 16.2% to 20.4% among men.
• Highest Rate of Underage Marriages:
  • West Bengal, along with Bihar, remains one of the states with highest rate of underage marriages.
• Lowest Rate of Underage Marriages:
  • J&K, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Nagaland, Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.
• Teenage Pregnancies:
  • Teenage pregnancies are down from 7.9% to 6.8%.
• Use of Contraceptive Method:
  • Employment Factor: 66.3% women who are employed use a modern contraceptive method, compared with 53.4% women who are not employed.
    • Contraceptive use increases in communities and regions that have seen more socioeconomic progress.
  • Income Factor: The “unmet need for family planning methods” is highest among the lowest wealth quintile (11.4%) and lowest among the highest wealth quintile (8.6%).
    • Use of modern contraceptives also increases with income from 50.7% women in the lowest wealth quintile to 58.7% women in the highest quintile.
• Domestic Violence Against Women:
  • Overall: Domestic violence has come down marginally from 31.2% in 2015-16 to 29.3% in 2019-21.
  • Highest and Lowest (States):
    • Domestic violence against women is highest in Karnataka at 48%, followed by Bihar, Telangana, Manipur and Tamil Nadu.
    • Lakshadweep has the least domestic violence at 2.1%.
• Institutional Births:
  • Overall: It increased from 79% to 89% in India.
  • Area Wise: In rural areas around 87% births being delivered in institutions and the same is 94% in urban areas.

• Immunisation Level:

• • More than three-fourths (77%) children age 12-23 months were fully immunised, compared with 62% in NFHS-4.
• Stunting:
  • The level of stunting among children under five years has marginally declined from 38% to 36% in the country since the last four years.
    • Stunting is higher among children in rural areas (37%) than urban areas (30%) in 2019-21.
• Obesity:
  • Compared with NFHS-4, the prevalence of overweight or obesity has increased in most States/UTs in NFHS-5.
    • At the national level, it increased from 21% to 24% among women and 19% to 23% among men.
• SDG Goal:
  • NFHS-5 shows an overall improvement in Sustainable Development Goals indicators in all States/Union Territories (UTs).
  • The extent to which married women usually participate in three household decisions indicates that their participation in decision-making is high.
    • Household decisions include health care for herself, making major household purchases, visiting her family or relatives.
    • Participation in decision making rises ranging from 80% in Ladakh to 99% in Nagaland and Mizoram.
    • Rural (77%) and urban (81%) differences are found to be marginal.
    • The prevalence of women having a bank or savings account that they use has increased from 53% to 79% in the last four years.

Source: TH