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

A little over half the households in Uttar Pradesh (54 per cent) lived in a semi-pucca house and 40 per cent lived in a pucca house. Around 90 per cent of all surveyed households had access to electricity, the report states. 

About 78 per cent of all households surveyed had access to a toilet facility – 95 per cent in urban areas and around 71 per cent in rural areas.

For the first time, NFHS has collected information on preschool attendance. As per the report, 12 per cent of the boys and 13 per cent of the girls aged 2-4 years attended preschool. Rate of school attendance for children aged 6-14 years was noted to be 88 per cent, which dropped to 58 per cent for children aged 15-17 years. In the 15-17 years bracket, only 53 per cent girls attended school as compared to 64 per cent boys.

Among women aged 20-24 years, 16 per cent of women had gotten married before attaining the legal minimum age of 18 years. During NFHS-4, this number was noted to be 21 per cent.

The fertility rate had decreased by 0.3 children per women since NFHS-4 and stood at 2.4 children per woman during NFHS-5. Out of the 12.5 per cent of pregnancies that did not result in a live birth in the five years preceding the survey, most were terminated as a result of a miscarriage (7.8 per cent) or abortion (3.7 per cent).

The use of contraception among married women between the ages of 15-49 years increased by almost 17 per cent since NFHS-4 from 45.5 per cent to 62.4 per cent. Half the surveyed men (aged 15-49 years) believed that contraception was solely ‘women’s business’.

The infant mortality rate in Uttar Pradesh was 50 deaths (before the age of one year) per 1,000 live births. The under-five mortality rate, on the other hand, was estimated to be 60 deaths (before five years of age) per 1,000 live births.

As per the report, pregnant women with no sons were more likely to get an ultrasound test during pregnancy compared to those with at least one son. Among women with two children, 74 per cent with no sons were likely to undertake an ultrasound test during their next pregnancy than the 63 per cent of women who had at least one son.

As high as 40 per cent of the children under the age of five years were stunted (too short for their age) in Uttar Pradesh. The level of undernutrition is the highest among children belonging to Scheduled Tribes, the report states.

As high as 50 per cent of women in the state had anaemia compared to the 21 per cent of men who suffered from anaemia.

As low as 16 per cent of the surveyed households in Uttar Pradesh had a health insurance scheme which covered at least one family member – 16.8 per cent in urban and 15.5 per cent in rural areas.

Among women aged 15-24 years, 73 per cent used a hygienic method of menstrual protection. About 69 per cent of women used cloth, 56 per cent used sanitary napkins, 17 per cent used napkins which were prepared locally and 1.5 per cent used tampons.

During the year preceding the survey, only 21 per cent of women (aged 15-49 years) and 77 per cent of men (aged 15-54 years) were employed.

As per the report, 33 per cent of the women surveyed had experienced physical or sexual violence. In the case of married women, the current husband was the most common perpetrator of physical violence. Only 28 per cent of women (aged 18-49 years) who had ever experienced physical or sexual violence had sought help, with only nine per cent approaching the police.

Focus and Factoids by Avishi Gupta. 

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.