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

Around 47 per cent of the surveyed households lived in a pucca (permanent) structure and 94 per cent had electricity. 25 per cent defecated in the open, an improvement from 40 per cent in NFHS-3.

85 per cent of children in the 6-17 age group attended school. Only 14 per cent of women (aged 15-49) and 22 per cent of men (aged 15-54) had completed 12 or more years of schooling.

The fertility rate in West Bengal was 1.8 children per woman. 18 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 already had children, down from 25 per cent in NFHS-3. 13 per cent of women and 19 per cent of men wanted more sons than daughters.

71 per cent of all married women (aged 15-49) used contraception. 39 per cent of men in the same age group thought that contraception was ‘women’s business’ and 67 per cent knew that a condom, if used correctly, could protect against pregnancy most of the time. Contraceptive use was higher in the rural areas (72 per cent) than in urban areas (69 per cent).

The infant mortality rate was 31 per 1,000 live births for teenage mothers and 26 per 1,000 live births for mothers in the 20-29 age group.

88 per cent of mothers who had given birth in the five years before the survey had received antenatal care for their last birth from a health professional (a doctor, an auxiliary nurse midwife, a ‘lady health visitor’, a nurse or a midwife). 75 per cent of the births in the last five years took place in a public health facility.

84 per cent of 12-23 month-old children had received all basic vaccinations against six major childhood illnesses (tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio and measles), while 2 per cent received no vaccinations at all.

54 per cent of 6-59 month-old children, 62 per cent of women (aged 15-49), and 30 per cent of men (aged 15-54) had anaemia.

According to self-reports (responses chosen from a questionnaire without researcher interference), 1,727 women per 100,000 and 1,556 men per 100,000 had diabetes. The numbers for asthma were 3,287 women per 100,000 and 1,791 men per 100,000, respectively.

59 per cent of men and 9 per cent of women used some form of tobacco. 

33 per cent of all households had health insurance that covered at least one member of the family. Health insurance coverage was more common in rural areas (36 per cent) than in urban areas (28 per cent).

Only 19 per cent of women and 26 per cent of men had comprehensive knowledge about HIV/AIDS.

In the 12 months preceding the survey, 24 per cent of women and 86 per cent of men (both in the 15-49 age group) were employed. 44 per cent of women had a bank or savings account that they used themselves. Of these, 73 per cent had 12 or more years of schooling.

23 per cent of women owned a house and 17 per cent owned land, either alone or jointly with someone else.

One-third of the women surveyed had experienced physical or sexual violence and only 11 per cent of these women sought help.

Focus and Factoids by Sushmita Iyer.

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.