Why in the News?
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) released the data for the National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6) for the period 2023-24.
The survey highlights a significant milestone in maternal and child healthcare, noting that 90.6% of births in India now take place in healthcare facilities (institutional deliveries), pushing the nation closer to universal safe childbirth coverage.
About National Family Health Survey (NFHS)
The NFHS is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India
NFHS was launched in 1992–93, with the first survey conducted during that period. Since then, five rounds have been completed, with NFHS-5 conducted in 2019–21 and NFHS-6 in 2023–24, providing crucial data on health, nutrition, fertility, and family welfare in India.
Nodal Agency:- The International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, is designated by the MoHFW as the nodal agency for providing coordination and technical guidance.
Objective: To provide high-quality, district-level data on health and family welfare to the government and other agencies for evidence-based policymaking and programme implementation.
Key Features of NFHS-6
Expanded Coverage: Surveyed 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts (excluding Manipur).
Technology-driven: Fully adopted Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) for real-time data validation and improved accuracy.
Enhanced Health Assessment: Expanded clinical, anthropometric, and biochemical (CAB) testing, including HIV testing.
New Focus Areas: Included Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) coverage, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), digital literacy, and digital financial transactions.
What are the Key Findings of NFHS-6?
Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood
Surge in Institutional Deliveries:
👉Saw a positive shift, rising from 88.6% (NFHS-5) to 90.6% (NFHS-6), moving toward universal coverage.
👉Births attended by skilled health personnel rose from 89.4% to 91.3%, while postnatal care for newborns within two days of delivery increased from 79.1% to 85.3%.
👉Antenatal Care (ANC): Overall ANC registration hit 95.9%. Tracking in the critical first trimester rose from 70% to 76.2%.
👉Nutritional Supplements: Mothers consuming Iron Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation for 100+ days rising from 44.1% to 54.9% and 180+ days from 26.0% to 37.8% during pregnancy.
👉Key Schemes: Schemes such as Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK), Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA/e-PMSMA), Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN), and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY 2.0) etc. improved antenatal care, institutional deliveries, and postnatal care coverage.
Child Health and Nutrition :-
👉Decline in Malnutrition:
⚫Stunting (low height-for-age) among children under five dropped substantially from 35.5% to 29.3%.
⚫Severe Wasting (too thin for height) fell sharply from 7.7% to 5.2%.
⚫Underweight prevalence among under-five children falling from 32.1% to 31.8%.
⚫Additionally, the share of children aged 6–8 months receiving complementary foods along with breastmilk increased from 45.9% to 59.5%.
👉Childhood Immunization:
⚫Full vaccination coverage among children (12–23 months) increased from 83.8% to 87.1%, with 95.6% receiving vaccines through public health facilities.
⚫Driven by improved cold-chain infrastructure, U-WIN digital tracking, and the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP), rotavirus vaccination coverage rose sharply from 36.4% to 85.4%, while coverage of the second dose of the measles-containing vaccine increased from 58.6% to 71.8%.
👉Child health outcomes improved, with acute respiratory infection (ARI) prevalence declining from 2.8% to 1.9% and severe diarrhoea falling to 0.5%.
👉Breastfeeding Practices: 95.6% of infants under six months are exclusively breastfed.
Additionally, early initiation of breastfeeding (within one hour of birth) for children under three years improved by nearly 10% points, rising from 41.8% (NFHS-5) to 50.1% (NFHS-6).
👉Key Policy Drivers: These nutritional gains are driven by policy convergence through POSHAN Abhiyaan, Saksham Anganwadi, and POSHAN 2.0, backed by robust infrastructure under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).
Demographic Trends:-
👉Total Fertility Rate (TFR): India’s TFR remains steady at 2.0, which is below the international replacement-level demographic threshold of 2.1, signaling population stabilization.
👉Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR): Increased from 66.7% to 69.1%, reflecting improved access to family planning services and promoting the health and well-being of mothers and children.
Women’s Empowerment and Financial Inclusion:-
👉Digital Inclusion Surge: The proportion of women who have ever used the internet nearly doubled, jumping from 33.3% (NFHS-5) to 64.3% (NFHS-6).
⚫Additionally, women owning and using a personal mobile phone rose from 53.9% to 63.6%.
👉Financial Empowerment: Economic independence saw an upward trend, with women maintaining and operating their own bank or savings accounts, increasing from 78.6% to 89.0%.
👉Menstrual Hygiene Management: The adoption of hygienic menstrual protection methods among young women (15–24 years) improved from 77.6% to 79.2%.
⚫This progress is structurally anchored by the Menstrual Hygiene Scheme (MHS) under the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) and subsidized products via the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana.
👉Expanded Health Protection: Household health insurance and financial risk protection coverage grew massively from 41.0% to 60.2%, heavily anchored by the Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) scheme.
What are the Emerging Concerns Highlighted by NFHS-6?
1. The C-Section Surge: Surgical Caesarean deliveries experienced an uncharacteristically sharp spike nationwide, jumping from 21.5% to 27.2%, far exceeding the WHO’s optimal threshold of 10–15%.
2. The Dual Burden of Disease: India is facing an epidemiological contradiction. Although long-term stunting declined, nearly 1 in 3 Indian children still suffer from chronic undernutrition, highlighting stubborn gaps in dietary diversity and household food security.
- Overweight and obesity rates among adults in the 15–49 age group have spiked significantly.
- For women, the obesity prevalence jumped from 24% to 30.7%, with urban women disproportionately affected (reporting an alarming 42.8%). For men, obesity rates rose from 22.9% to 27.3%
3. Continuity of Care: While initial Antenatal Care (ANC) registration is high (95.9%), more than one-third of expectant mothers still fail to complete the recommended minimum of four ANC visits.
Way forward:-
1.Regulate Commercialization of Maternity Care.
2.Strengthen Primary Care
3.Leverage AI for Micro-Planning.
Conclusion:-
NFHS-6 highlights significant progress in maternal and child health, nutrition, family planning, and access to healthcare services, reflecting India’s steady advancement towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, rising non-communicable diseases, lifestyle-related risks, and the dual burden of undernutrition and obesity underscore the need for sustained focus on preventive healthcare, behavioural change etc.
