New Delhi, May 31 (PTI) The latest round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) points to significant improvement in child and maternal health, nutrition and immunisation indicators in India, child rights organisation CRY said on Sunday.
Welcoming the findings, Child Rights and You (CRY) said that compared to NFHS-5 (2019-21), the latest data reflects notable improvements that underscore the impact of sustained public health investments, strengthened service delivery systems, and the efforts of frontline health workers.
“Findings of the recently released National Family Health Survey Report – sixth round (NFHS-6, 2023-24) indicate encouraging progress across several key indicators related to child and maternal health, nutrition, and immunization
status in India,” CRY said in statement.
One of the most significant gains has been in immunisation coverage. The proportion of children aged 12-23 months who are fully immunized increased from 83.8 per cent in NFHS-5 to 87.1 per cent in NFHS-6, while coverage of at least one vaccine remained above 96 per cent, according to the survey.
The survey said that Rotavirus vaccination coverage more than doubled, rising from 36.4 per cent to 85.6 per cent, and coverage of the second dose of the measles vaccine improved substantially from 58.6 per cent to 71.8 per cent.
The NFHS-6 data also pointed to positive trends in child nutrition.
“Stunting among children under five years declined from 35.5 per cent to 29.3 per cent, while severe wasting reduced from 7.7 percent to 5.2 per cent. Although the prevalence of underweight children recorded a marginal decline (from 32.1 per cent to 31.8 percent), the overall trend suggests gradual progress in addressing undernutrition,” it said.
Improvements were also recorded in infant and young child feeding practices. “Early initiation of breast feeding within one hour of birth increased from 41.8 per cent to 50.1 per cent, while the proportion of children aged 6-8 months receiving complementary foods along with breast milk rose from 45.9 per cent to 59.5 per cent.” Child healthcare outcomes improved as well, with severe diarrhoea cases declining to 0.5 per cent and postnatal check-ups increasing from 88.6 per cent to 90.6 per cent.
CRY CEO Puja Marwaha said the encouraging trends reflected the gradual strengthening of India’s public healthcare system through sustained policy focus, targeted schemes and the efforts of frontline health workers.
“Improved cold-chain infrastructure, digital tracking initiatives such as U-WIN, nutrition-focused programmes under Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0, and the extensive reach of ICDS have collectively contributed to better maternal and child health outcomes,” she said.
Marwaha said the decline in chronic and acute malnutrition, alongside improvements in immunisation coverage, postnatal care and institutional healthcare services, pointed to growing public confidence in the healthcare system.
At the same time, she said the findings highlighted the need for sustained investments and focused interventions to ensure equitable access to health and nutrition services.
“The NFHS-6 findings serve as a reminder that while India is moving in the right direction, sustained investments and focused interventions are essential to ensure that no child is left behind,” Marwaha said.
She added that strengthening last-mile delivery, enhancing resource allocation and deepening collaboration among governments, frontline workers, civil society organisations, communities and private-sector partners would be critical to sustaining the gains. PTI KSH MDO MDO
