State of health

Family Health Survey offers clues about what worked, what didn't

The fact sheet of the fourth round (2015-16) of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) has a wealth of information that policymakers would do well to study in detail. The results show widespread improvements over the earlier such survey done in 2005-06 in health and nutrition parameters such as infant mortality and under-five mortality as well as the percentage of children under five who are stunted and underweight. Critical indicators of women’s empowerment such as literacy and economic empowerment (women with bank accounts/mobile phones) have shown a dramatic improvement and domestic violence and child marriages are down. The data also