National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-20 Union Territory Fact Sheet: Ladakh

As per the report, around 99.5 per cent of the people surveyed in Ladakh lived in households with access to electricity.

About 88.7 per cent of the population was part of households which had access to ‘improved’ sources of drinking water. Improved sanitation facilities were used by only 42.3 per cent of the people surveyed. The number was much higher in urban areas (74.7 per cent) than in rural areas (34.8 per cent).

In Ladakh, only 50 per cent of the women surveyed (aged 15-49 years) had 10 or more years of schooling as opposed to 72.7 per cent of men.

Of women between the ages of 20-24 years, 2.5 per cent had married before reaching the legal minimum age of 18 years. This was a decrease from NFHS-4 estimates of 4.9 per cent.

The total fertility rate in the union territory was 1.3 children per woman – 1.3 in rural areas and 1.4 in urban areas. The fertility rate had reduced considerably since NFHS-4 when it was recorded at 2.3 children per woman.

The contraceptive prevalence rate among married women between 15-49 years of age was 51.3 per cent in NFHS-5 a fall from 66.6 per cent in NFHS-4. Use of modern methods of contraception also fell from 64.7 per cent to 48 per cent.

The infant mortality rate in Ladakh reduced from 35.3 deaths (before the age of one year) per 1,000 live births during NFHS-4 to 20 deaths in NFHS-5. During the same period, the under-five mortality rate also declined from 40.6 deaths (before the age of five years) per 1,000 live births to 29.5 deaths.

Among mothers who had given birth in the five years prior to the survey, 85.8 per cent had received antenatal check-up in the first trimester, a rise from 79.5 per cent reported in NFHS-4. Further, 79.6 per cent mothers received postnatal care by a health personnel within two days of delivery.

As many as 95.1 per cent of deliveries in the five years prior to the survey were institutional births. Overall, 94.7 per cent of institutional deliveries happened in public facilities – 98.4 per cent in urban areas and 93.7 per cent in rural areas.

Based on information from vaccination cards, all children surveyed in Ladakh (aged 12-23 months) were fully vaccinated.

In Ladakh, 30.5 per cent of children under the age of five years were stunted (too short for their age), almost the same as NFHS-4 figures. The percentage of children who were wasted (too thin for their height) saw a steep rise from 9.3 per cent in NFHS-4 to 17.5 per cent in NFHS-5.

As high as 92.5 per cent of children between the ages of 6-59 months were reported anaemic – 95.1 per cent in rural areas and ­­­­­84.1 per cent in urban areas. Among people aged 15-49 years, 92.8 per cent of women and 75.6 per cent of men also suffered from anaemia.

Of all the people surveyed in Ladakh, 24.3 per cent of women and 29.6 per cent of men (aged 15-49 years) had comprehensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS. As many as 73.9 per cent of women and 80.4 per cent of men were aware that regular use of a condom could reduce a person’s chances of getting HIV/AIDS.

Overall, 78.2 per cent of women (aged 15-24 years) reported using a hygienic method of menstrual protection such as sanitary napkins, tampons or menstrual cups. This is an increase from the figure of 64 per cent recorded in NFHS-4.

About 18.1 per cent of ever-married women (aged 18-49 years) reported having experienced spousal violence, a steep increase from the 8.5 per cent recorded in NFHS-4. Around 8.7 per cent women (aged 18-29 years) in the union territory had experienced sexual violence by the age of 18 years.

Focus and Factoids by Priyanka Gulati.

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