Published on 13 Feb 2025
In the health sector, India has made enormous strides over the past decades. The life expectancy has crossed 67 years, infant and under-five mortality rates are declining as is the rate of disease incidence. Many diseases, such as polio, guinea worm disease, yaws, and tetanus, have been eradicated.
Status of Health in India
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has published the 5th National Family Health Survey which provides information on the health standards in India and the emerging issues in India’s health sector.
Important findings of National Family Health Survey
|
|
NFHS -5 estimates |
Inference |
|
Sex ratio |
Highest sex ratio ever recorded, with 1020 women for 1000 men. But the the sex ratio at birth is still skewed with only 952 girls per 1000 boys. |
India is moving closer to gender parity, but infanticides and preference for male children persist. |
|
Total fertility rate |
The average number of children per woman, declined from 2.2 to 2, which is below the replacement level of 2.1 |
India is on track to bring its population under control. |
|
Institutional birth |
There has been an increase in institutional birth from 79% to 89% at all India levels. This has been 87% and 94% respectively, in rural and urban India. |
Increased hospital coverage and the progress of government schemes in promoting institutional delivery in India. |
|
Immunization |
Fully immunized children aged between 12 and 23 months increased from 62% to 77%. |
Immunization programmes are yielding results, but need to speed up. |
|
Stunting |
Stunting has declined marginally in India, from 38% to 36%. This has been 37% and 30% in rural and urban India respectively. |
Poor food and nutritional security as the decrease in stunting has been marginal. |
|
Obesity |
In India, obesity has increased from 21% to 24% among women and from 19% to 23% among men. |
Poor food habits and unhealthy lifestyle with little focus on physical exercise. |
|
Anaemia |
The incidence of anaemia in under-5 children has increased from 58% to 67% and in women has increased from 53% to 57%. |
Need to ensure better nutritional supply for women, especially adolescent girls. |
|
Underage marriage |
Only 3% of the women got married before the age of 18 years. The fall was tremendous, as NFHS - 4 indicated this to be around 26%. |
Change in public perception regarding the harmful impacts of child marriage. |
| Bank account for women | There has been significant progress from 53% to 79% at All India level. | Economic empowerment of women is an indication of them being more independent. |
In short, these estimates give an overview of India's present health dynamics. Having identified the critical areas, the government needs to incorporate better measures to address these deficits to improve India's health standard.
Social Justice
Health
Sex Ratio
TFR
Immunisation
Stunting
General Studies Paper 2
Social Justice
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