NFHS collected data on COVID deaths, toilets and fuel, but information missing from factsheets

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-6 collected data on COVID-19, but the data was not reflected in the fact sheets released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare a few days ago. The survey was conducted by 27 Field Agencies (FA) in two phases, from 28 May 2023 to 26 February 2024 and the second phase from 7 February 2024 to 31 December 2024, and collected information from 6,79,238 households, 716,397 women and 100,977 men.

Seven questions focused on COVID

There were seven questions focused on the COVID outbreak, including “Have any members of your household tested positive for COVID-19, including the deceased?” “Has anyone in the household been hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19 infection?” It also collected data on out-of-pocket expenses for treatment of survivors and deceased family members and the source of money for out-of-pocket expenses.

When Hindu When he asked a researcher whether this information about Covid-19 was collected, the answer was positive.

Had this information been shared, researchers would have been informed about the impact of the COVID pandemic, from the number of deaths to the economic impact of the disease. While there is wide variation in information on the number of deaths due to Covid-19, with the official count at 5,33,849, other international organizations estimate the death toll to be at least four times this number.

NHFS-6 broke new ground. “Some new questions like migration status, COVID experience, knowledge of SHG-related anemia and hepatitis B/C, digital literacy have been added and some questions have been modified or removed based on existing situations,” said UV Somayajulu, CEO and managing director of Sigma, a Delhi-based social research organization that conducted fieldwork in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Andaman Nicobar Islands.

There were other changes in data collection. “Direct questions regarding HIV/AIDS have been removed and asked separately and separately for HIV and AIDS. The question of anemia experience has been removed and the question about awareness has been removed. Testing for anemia has been removed from the biomarker,” informs Mr. Somayajulu.

IMR and NMR details are not part of NFHS-6

However, not all of the collected data was transferred to the information forms. The published NFHS-5 had 131 parameters. In contrast, NFHS-6 had only 101 parameters, of which 46 parameters covered children/maternity/women. But even here, NFHS-6 differs from earlier studies by not providing details on the neonatal mortality rate, infant mortality rate, and under-five mortality rate, which are part of the NFHS-5 data.

“Like previous rounds, NFHS-6 estimates will help monitor the performance of various flagship programs launched by the Government of India in recent years,” Health Minister JP Nadda’s foreword reads.

Cleaning data

However, NFHS-6 does not have the sanitation data that is part of NFHS-5, but the data is collected with three relevant questions: “Do you and your household members have a toilet that you can use?”

Another indicator for which data is collected but not used is “What type of fuel is predominantly used for cooking in your household?” is the question. This data point would have shown how fuel usage has changed in Indian households, thanks to the flagship program of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). Data on adult literacy were also not reflected in the NFHS-6 data sheets.

An email sent to the International Population Institute, which conducted the research, did not elicit a response regarding the change in data sharing.