The National Family Health Survey-6 was conducted during the 2023-24 period (Represenatational Image (Getty Images))
New Delhi: India has recorded notable progress in health, nutrition and social development indicators, reflecting the impact of sustained policy interventions and focused implementation of flagship programmes, the National Family Health Survey-6 has indicated. The survey was released by the Union Health Ministry here on Friday.
The National Family Health Survey-6 was conducted during 2023-24 by the health ministry with the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, as the nodal agency.
Covering nearly 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts, the survey provides vital evidence on population, health, nutrition and family welfare indicators and supports evidence-based planning and programme implementation up to the district level.
Infographics for National Family Health Survey 6 (ETV Bharat)
Improvement in maternal health services
The NFHS-6 highlights significant improvements in maternal and child healthcare services across the country. A total of 95.9 per cent of pregnant women received antenatal care, while mothers receiving antenatal care in the first trimester increased from 70 per cent to 76.2 per cent.
Mothers receiving at least four antenatal care visits also increased from 58.5 per cent to 65.2 per cent, reflecting stronger continuity of maternal healthcare services.
Institutional deliveries increased from 88.6 per cent to 90.6 percent, moving India closer towards universal coverage. Births attended by skilled health personnel improved from 89.4 per cent to 91.3 per cent, while postnatal care for newborns by doctor/nurse/lady health visitor (LHV)/Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM)/Midwife/other health personnel within two days of delivery improved from 79.1 per cent to 85.3 per cent.
Maternal nutrition indicators also showed notable improvement. Mothers consuming iron folic acid supplements for 100 days or more during pregnancy increased from 44.1 per cent to 54.9 per cent, while those consuming supplements for 180 days or more rose from 26 per cent to 37.8 per cent.
These gains reflect strengthened public health infrastructure and improved access to maternal and child healthcare services across the country, driven by focused implementation of initiatives such as Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK), Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA/e-PMSMA) etc.
These programmes have enhanced antenatal and postnatal care coverage, ensured quality care during pregnancy and childbirth and promoted safe motherhood and child health practices.
The country’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) remains at 2.0. The Contraceptive Prevalence Rate increased from 66.7 per cent to 69.1 per cent, with a focus on the well-being of mother and child, thus showing improved access to family planning services to those who need.
These improvements underscore the continued impact of national family planning programmes, including Mission Parivar Vikas. The country continues to make strong progress towards universal immunisation coverage.
Full vaccination coverage among children aged 12-23 months based on vaccination cards increased from 83.8 per cent to 87.1 per cent.
At least 95.6 per cent of children received most vaccinations through public health facilities, reaffirming the trust of the community towards the public healthcare system. Any vaccine received by children aged 12-23 months remains consistently high above 96 per cent, while substantial improvement has been recorded across major vaccines.
A substantial increase has been recorded in rotavirus vaccination coverage from 36.4 per cent to 85.4 per cent. Coverage of the second dose of measles-containing vaccine also increased significantly from 58.6 per cent to 71.8 per cent.
Improvement in key child health indicators
The survey also recorded improvements in key child health indicators. Prevalence of symptoms of acute respiratory infection among children declined from 2.8 per cent to 1.9 per cent, while prevalence of severe diarrhoea also declined to 0.5 percent.
Nearly 95.6 per cent of children under six months of age were found to be breastfed during the survey period. Further, the percentage of children under three years breastfed within one hour of birth increased by nearly 10 percentage points from 41.8 per cent to 50.1 per cent.
Stunting (low height for age) among children under five years declined substantially from 35.5 per cent to 29.3 per cent, reflecting improvement in long-term nutritional outcomes.
Severe wasting (too thin for one’s height) declined sharply from 7.7 per cent to 5.2 per cent, while underweight prevalence in children under five also registered a marginal decline from 32.1 per cent to 31.8 per cent. Improvement was also observed in infant and young child feeding practices. Children aged 6-8 months receiving solid or semi-solid food along with breastmilk increased from 45.9 per cent to 59.5 per cent.
These gains are driven by convergent efforts across ministries through flagship initiatives such as POSHAN Abhiyaan and Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0, supported by strengthened service delivery under ICDS, ther report said.
Complementary interventions under the National Health Mission, including maternal and child health services, Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres, Mother’s Absolute Affection (MAA), Infant and Young Child Feeding, Iron and folic acid supplementation and growth monitoring have further contributed to improved outcomes.
Health insurance and financing scheme coverage has expanded significantly from 41 per cent to 60.2 per cent at the household level. The NFHS-6 records continued advancement in women’s digital inclusion and financial empowerment.
Women who had ever used the internet nearly doubled from 33.3 per cent to 64.3 per cent. Women having a bank or savings account that they themselves use increased from 78.6 per cent to 89.0 per cent, and women having a mobile phone that they themselves use rose from 53.9 per cent to 63.6 per cent. The use of hygienic methods of menstrual protection among women in the age group of 15-24 years has increased from 77.6 per cent to 79.2 per cent.
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