By Lesedi Sibiya-Diplomatic Insider
A press briefing was hosted by the High Commissioner of India to South Africa, Prabhat Kumar on 09 July at the Consulate General of India, Johannesburg in order to discuss the key findings as well as long-term trends of India’s 6th National Family Health Survey (NFHS).
The High Commissioner emphasised his focus on the execution of flagship welfare programmes and how they have altered the socio-economic and public health landscape of India as well as to strengthen women’s empowerment across the country.
The survey was conducted during the 2023-24 calendar year and was conducted across 715 districts by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) in Mumbai and serves as an essential evidence driven milestone which highlights a drastic shift in the well-being of Indian citizens.
The biggest highlights from the survey includes the progress in maternal and child health, fertility, family planning, nutrition, education and women empowerment. Another highlight from the survey is the overall electricity coverage in India which has reached 98.3%, drinking water access sits at 96.5% as well as 89% of women owning bank accounts.
Institutional deliveries have reached 90.6%, skilled birth attendance at 91.3% and full immunization coverage has risen to 87.1%. Infant Mortality rate has decreased from 39 to 24 as compared to the previous decade.
The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has also stabilised during this time with the replacement level sitting at 2.0. Gender-Based Violence in India has also significantly decreased from 37% to 22%.
These improvements by initiatives geared towards electrification, called the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), as well as financial inclusion with the opening of banks and post office accounts.
India has also been held together by primary healthcare which has proven strong with a network Health and Wellness Centres spanning at 187,000. In order to overcome adult obesity, the government has accelerated lifestyle movements such as Khelo India, Fit India, Eat Right India and yoga.
This is backed by wellness sessions, screening and management of non-communicable Diseases. The press briefing concluded with an assessment of the macro-trends of the survey as well as placing emphasis on the concrete evidence that the NFHS provides for India’s pursuit for long term improvements across different factions of living standards, health care access, financial inclusion and digital empowerment.
In the press briefing it was also highlighted that India has consolidated its demographic transition successfully.
These milestone findings in terms of managing Non Communicable Diseases (NCD) and every other sector of their research has affirmed India’s inclusive and steady development towards reaching Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).