NATIONAL FAMILY HEALTH SURVEY (NFHS): MORE WOMEN THAN MEN IN INDIA FOR THE FIRST TIME

Why in news?
• Recently, the fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS) was released.
About NFHS Survey
• It is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households
throughout India.
• The survey provides state and national information for India on fertility, infant and child mortality,
the practice of family planning, maternal and child health, reproductive health, nutrition, anaemia,
utilization and quality of health and family planning services.
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) designated the International Institute for
Population Sciences (IIPS) Mumbai, as the nodal agency, responsible for providing coordination
and technical guidance for the survey.
• NFHS-5, the most comprehensive survey on socio-economic and health indicators in the country,
shows some surprising demographic transitions.
• The previous four rounds of the NFHS were conducted in 1992-93, 1998-99, 2005-06 and 2015-16.
Highlights of the Report:
• Women outnumber men, fertility has decreased, and India is getting older: There were 1,020
women for 1000 men in the country in 2019-2021. This is the highest sex ratio for any NFHS survey
as well as since the first modern synchronous census conducted in 1881.
• The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has also come down below the threshold at which the population is
expected to replace itself from one generation to next. TFR was 2 in 2019-2021, just below the
replacement fertility rate of 2.1.
• Children’s nutrition improved but at a slower pace: The share of stunted (low height for age),
wasted (low weight for height), and underweight (low weight for age) children have all come down
since the last NFHS conducted in 2015-16. However, the share of severely wasted children has not,
nor has the share of overweight (high weight for height) or anaemic children.
• India might be food secure, but nutrition is a problem for adults too: Though India might have
achieved food security, 60% of Indians cannot afford nutritious diets.
• Anaemia: India’s battle with anaemia also appears to have faltered. The proportion of anaemic
children (5-59 months) increased from 58% to 67%. Women aged 15-49 who were anaemic
increased from 53% to 57% and men of the same age increased from 29% to 31% between both
editions of the NFHS.
• Obesity: Nutritionally deficient diet likely explained the rise in obesity. Very challenging findings on
waist-hip ratio. 56.7% women and 47.7% men have a high-risk waist-to-hip ratio.