National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) 2015-16: Nagaland

Around 35 per cent of the households surveyed were in urban areas. 28 per cent of all families lived in a pucca (permanent) structure, 97 per cent had electricity, 2 per cent defecated in the open, and 16 per cent were headed by women. On average, a household had 4 members.

The survey of heads of households by religion found that 89 per cent were Christian, 7 per cent were Hindu and 3 per cent were Muslim. The survey of heads of households by caste/tribe found that 89 per cent belonged to the Scheduled Tribes, 5 per cent to the Scheduled Castes, and 0.8 per cent to the Other Backward Classes. 

The overall sex ratio was 968 females per 1,000 males, and the sex ratio of the under-7 population was 955 females per 1,000 males.

94 per cent of children between the ages of 6 and 14 attended school as compared to 80 per cent between 15 and 17 years. There was no gender disparity in attendance in the 6-14 age group, but in the 15-17 age group, attendance was 81 per cent among girls and 78 per cent among boys.

20 per cent of women and 31 per cent of men wanted more sons than daughters, and only 10 per cent of women and 9 per cent of men wanted more daughters than sons.

The rate of contraceptive use among married women (aged 15-49) was 27 per cent. Of these, 34 per cent were sterilised while 0.1 per cent relied on male sterlisation.

The infant mortality rate was 30 deaths before the age of 1 per 1,000 live births. 

Among mothers who gave birth in the five years before the survey, 44 per cent received antenatal care from a health professional (a doctor, an auxiliary nurse midwife, a ‘lady health visitor’, a nurse or a midwife), while 54 per cent did not receive any antenatal care. 33 per cent of births took place in a public sector health facility and 67 per cent at home. 

Before the survey, 36 per cent of children between 12 and 23 months received all the basic vaccinations against six major childhood illnesses (tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, and measles), while 19 per cent did not receive any vaccinations. 

Only 45 per cent of children under 6 months were exclusively breastfed, as per World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations

Among children under 5 years, stunting decreased from 39 per cent to 29 per cent in the 10 years between NFHS-3 and NFHS-4, and the percentage of underweight children decreased from 25 to 17 per cent. In the same period, wasting (low weight for height) decreased only slightly from 13 to 11 per cent.

Heart disease was 4.5 times more prevalent among women (2,511 per 100,000) than among men (560 per 100,000). 

52 per cent of women worked in a non-agricultural occupation as compared to 57 per cent of men.

33 per cent of women and 63 per cent of men owned a house, either by themselves or with someone else. 25 per cent of women and 58 per cent of men owned land, either individually or jointly. 

Only 28 per cent of women were allowed to go to the market, a health facility, and places outside the village/community by themselves. 45 per cent of women and 35 per cent of men believed it is justifiable for a husband to beat his wife under some circumstances.

 Focus and Factoids by Anushka Jain.

PARI Library's health archive project is part of an initiative supported by the Azim Premji University to develop a free-access repository of health-related reports relevant to rural India.