New Delhi, 07 June (H.S.): The Union Government has released the fact sheet of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6), indicating overall improvements in several key indicators related to health, nutrition, and population across the country. The report highlights expanded access to maternal and child healthcare services, improved immunisation coverage, increased utilisation of antenatal care, and positive progress in breastfeeding-related outcomes.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that the NFHS-6 fact sheet presents 101 major indicators covering health, nutrition, and demographic trends. It also introduces several new parameters for the first time, including population structure, the proportion of elderly citizens, financial inclusion, utilisation of antenatal care services, vaccination coverage, prevalence of severe diarrhoea, and expanded breastfeeding indicators.

Officials clarified that important areas such as family planning, child health, women’s health, and HIV-related outcomes have not been excluded from the survey framework. These indicators will be presented in greater detail in the forthcoming comprehensive national report. The ministry further noted that NFHS remains India’s largest and most extensive household health survey and continues to play a vital role in evidence-based policy formulation.

The ministry described the current publication as an interim release, stating that the full national report will be issued later and will include more detailed indicators, expanded analysis, and methodological explanations.

Responding to certain media reports questioning the scope of the fact sheet, officials said that several indicators not included in the current release are already monitored through separate national systems. Data related to sanitation and clean cooking fuel usage, for instance, is available through Swachh Survekshan Grameen and surveys conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

Similarly, statistics on mortality, birth registration, and population dynamics are compiled through the Sample Registration System (SRS), Civil Registration System (CRS), and census-based mechanisms.

Officials also explained that haemoglobin testing for anaemia was not conducted in NFHS-6 due to concerns raised regarding the capillary blood sampling method used in earlier rounds. They added that anaemia-related data will now be sourced from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Diet and Biomarkers Survey, which employs the more accurate venous blood sampling technique.

The ministry reiterated that the NFHS continues to serve as a key scientific instrument for tracking India’s health and demographic transition and remains central to shaping public health policy and programmes.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar