NFHS-6 launched, will not have disability-related questions: Centre

Centre said that based on data collection for a few parameters on disability in NFHS, it is not possible to adequately capture the all-India extent of disability and will underestimate its prevalence

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The Centre has launched the sixth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6), it informed the Lok Sabha on Friday. In reply to a question, Bharati Pravin Pawar, minister of state in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), said that the survey will take 2 to 3 years to complete.

Bharati, however, said that this time, the survey will not have questions related to disability. She said that most of the data related to disability are already available in the survey report of the National Sample Survey (NSS) 76th round, named "Survey of Persons with Disabilities".

It was a dedicated survey conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) during July-December 2018 to collect detailed information on people with disability.

"Since the primary focus of NFHS is maternal and child health and other associated questions, the dedicated survey of NSS, gave a better coverage of disability prevalence, having elaborate indicators on disability as compared to NFHS-5. Therefore, based on data collection for a few parameters on disability in NFHS, it is not possible to adequately capture the all-India extent of disability and will significantly underestimate the prevalence of disability," she said.

"On the above grounds, the TAC and other high-level Committees for NFHS-6 decided for non-inclusion of disability-related questions in NFHS-6," Bharati added.

In her reply, Bharati also said that the health ministry received various representations from disability activists through the social justice ministry, letters from the National Human Rights Commission etc. regarding the inclusion of disability-related questions in NFHS-6 and the ministry addressed them.