National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-21: Chhattisgarh

Of the total households surveyed in Chhattisgarh, 77 per cent were situated in rural areas. Around 43 per cent households lived in a pucca house and 99 per cent had access to electricity.

The survey found that 92.9 per cent of urban and 83.5 per cent of rural households in Chhattisgarh owned a mobile phone. As many as 94.7 per cent of all households surveyed had at least one member with a bank or post office account. The number of households with at least one member with health insurance/financial scheme coverage was higher in rural areas (72.1 per cent) than in urban areas (68.8 per cent).

The report notes that 91.5 per cent of the households had services for basic drinking water. Roughly 74.5 per cent households had ‘improved’ sanitation facilities, 7.3 per cent had shared facilities and 2.9 per cent had ‘unimproved’ facilities. Open defecation was practised by 15 per cent households due to lack of any sanitation facilities.

Among children aged 2-4 years, 22 per cent boys and 24 per cent girls attended preschool. Attendance was noted to be higher in urban households (27.5 per cent) than in rural households (21.6 per cent). School attendance among children aged 6-17 years was reported to be 85 per cent.

In Chhattisgarh, the median age at first marriage was 19.3 years for women between the ages of 20-49 years. The percentage of women aged 20-24 who had married before reaching the legal minimum age of 18, fell from 21 per cent in NFHS-4 to 12 per cent.

The total fertility rate in the state was 1.8 children per woman. This was a decrease from the fertility rate of 2.2 children per woman noted in NFHS-4.

The contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) among married women increased from 58 per cent in NFHS-4 to 68 per cent. Use of modern contraceptive methods – sterilisation, intrauterine devices, injectables, contraceptive pills and condoms – was reported by 61.7 per cent of married women.

Of all the men surveyed (aged 15-54 years), 39 per cent considered contraception a ‘women’s business’.

The infant mortality rate in the state declined from 54 deaths (before the age of one year) per 1,000 live births in NFHS-4 to 44 deaths per 1,000 live births. During the same period, the under-five mortality rate – probability of death between birth and the fifth birthday – also declined from 64 to 50 deaths per 1,000 live births.

The percentage of women who received antenatal care in the five years prior to the survey decreased from 96.2 per cent in NFHS-4 to 93.2 per cent.

The report notes that overall basic vaccination (against tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio and measles) among children aged 12-23 months increased from 76.4 per cent in NFHS-4 to 79.7 per cent.

Around 61 per cent women (aged 15-49) in the state were anaemic. This is a steep increase from the NFHS-4 calculations of 47 per cent. Among men in the same age group, 27 per cent had anaemia. Prevalence of medically treated tuberculosis was higher among women (116 women per 100,000 women) than among men (107 men per 100,000 men).

Awareness of HIV/AIDS is higher among men (94.6 per cent) than women (88.7 per cent) in Chhattisgarh. However, only 30.7 per cent of men and 23 per cent women had ‘comprehensive knowledge’ about the disease.

Use of hygienic methods of menstrual protection – including sanitary napkins, tampons and menstrual cups – increased from 47 per cent in NFHS-4 to 69 per cent.

In the 12 months preceding the survey, only 47 per cent women (aged 15-49 years) were employed compared to 84 per cent men. Around 80 per cent of women had a bank or savings account that they used themselves.

In Chhattisgarh, 19 per cent of women had experienced physical or sexual violence and four per cent had experienced both. The report notes that 20 per cent of women, who were or had ever been married, had experienced violence from their spouses.

Focus and Factoids by Akshita Hazarika.

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.