National Family Health Survey-6
Why in News?
The National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6) was released by the Union Health Ministry on May 28, 2026, revealing significant improvements in India's maternal and child health, nutrition, immunisation, and financial protection during 2023–24.
Maternal & Child Healthcare
- Institutional Deliveries: Hospital births rose from 88.6% (NFHS-5) to 90.6%, nearing universal coverage.
- Antenatal Care (ANC): Expectant mothers accessing prenatal care spiked from 92.6% to 95.9%.
- First Trimester Checkups: Early-stage pregnancy checkups improved notably from 70.0% to 76.2%.
- Skilled Attendance: Deliveries assisted by qualified health workers reached 91.3%.
The Surge in C-Sections (Area of Concern)
- National Spike: Caesarean section (C-section) births climbed from 21.5% to 27.2% nationwide.
- Private vs Public Gap: Private medical centers logged an exceptionally high 54.1% C-section rate, compared to just 16.9% in government hospitals.
- Urban Concentration: Urban areas saw the sharpest surge, with C-sections tracking at 40.5% of all deliveries.
Immunisation & Nutrition Gains
- Full Immunisation: Complete childhood vaccination cards for infants aged 12–23 months increased from 83.8% to 87.1%.
- Rotavirus Success: Rotavirus vaccine coverage more than doubled, rocketing from 36.4% to 85.4%.
- Public Health Trust: Over 95.6% of families preferred and utilized public health networks for child immunisations.
- Stunting & Wasting: Malnutrition indicators improved with a 17% drop in childhood stunting and a 32% decline in severe wasting.
Women’s Empowerment & Financial Protection
- Internet Penetration: The percentage of women who have ever used the internet nearly doubled, jumping from 33.3% to 64.3%.
- Financial Autonomy: Women actively operating their own bank or savings accounts scaled up to 89.0%.
- Mobile Ownership: Women using independent mobile handsets expanded to 63.6%.
- Health Insurance: Household healthcare coverage expanded drastically from 41.0% to 60.2%, driven by schemes like Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY).
- Menstrual Hygiene: Safe menstrual protection adoption among young women expanded to 79.2%.
Emerging Lifestyle Challenges
- Total Fertility Rate (TFR): India's overall TFR stabilized comfortably at a replacement level of 2.0.
- The Dual Burden: Alongside pockets of undernutrition, the data warned of a rising tide of overweight and obesity among adults.
- Lifestyle Risks: The survey indicated increasing risks associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDs), reinforcing the need for preventive healthcare strategies.
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