National Family Health Survey: Over 30% women in 5 sates, UTs suffered sexual violence by spouses; check other key takeaways

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The Union Health Ministry on December 12 released Factsheets of key indicators on population, reproductive and child health, family welfare, nutrition and others for 22 States/UTs of the first Phase of the 2019-20 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5).

In a statement on December 15, the ministry said that the factsheet released includes 131 key indicators, which will help track progress of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the country.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the results released by the survey:

>> According to the survey, over 30 percent women suffered physical and sexual violence by their spouses in five out of 22 surveyed states and Union territories in the country. The five states are Karnataka, Assam, Mizoram, Telangana and Bihar.

>> In nine states/UTs, there was an increase in the percentage of women aged 18-29 years who said that they faced sexual violence by the age of 18, the data said.

>> The government said that the Total Fertility Rates (TFR) has further declined since NFHS-4 in almost all the Phase-1 States and UTs. The replacement level of fertility (2.1) has been achieved in 19 out of the 22 States/UTs and only 3 states viz. Manipur (2.2), Meghalaya (2.9) and Bihar (3.0) have TFR above replacement levels now.

>> Overall Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) has increased substantially in most States/UTs and it is the highest in HP and WB (74 percent). Use of modern methods of contraception has also increased in almost all States/UTs.

>> Less than 45 percent of households use clean fuel for cooking in five states, including Bihar and West Bengal, the survey revealed.

>> The survey found that over 70 percent of the population in 16 states are living in households that use an improved sanitation facility.

>> Over 90 percent of the population was living in households with electricity, and more than 70 per cent with improved drinking water sources in the surveyed states and UTs, according to the data.

>> Significantly, the survey also found that over 60 percent women in 12 states and union territories have never used the internet. In comparison, more percentage of men have used the internet.

>> Child nutrition indicators show a mixed pattern across states. While the situation improved in many States/UTs, there has been minor deterioration in others. Drastic changes in respect of stunting and wasting are unlikely in a short period, the survey said.

The NFHS-5 (2019-20) was conducted in 6.1 lakh sample households, involving household-level interviews, to collect information on population, health, family planning and nutrition related indicators from 22 states and UTs.