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

Of all the households surveyed in Haryana, around 65 per cent were located in rural areas. The report states that 76.5 per cent of the households lived in pucca houses and almost all (99.5 per cent) had access to electricity.

Almost all (98.6 per cent) households surveyed in the state had access to an ‘improved source’ of drinking water and 83.1 per cent had ‘improved’ sanitation facilities which were not shared with other households. Around 3.4 per cent of the households did not have any sanitation facilities at all and used open spaces or fields for defecation.

In Haryana, 59.5 per cent of the households used ‘clean fuel’ like electricity, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas or biogas for cooking. The percentage of such households was higher in urban areas (90.5 per cent) than in rural areas (42.6 per cent).

Only 23 per cent of girls and 22 per cent of boys between the ages of 2-4 years attended preschool in the state. As high as 94.3 per cent of children aged 6-14 years attended school in the state. The number fell to 73.4 per cent among children aged 15-17 years.

The age at first marriage among women – aged 20-49 years – was recorded to be 19.7 years. Among women between 20 and 24 years, the percentage of those married before reaching the legal minimum age of 18 years declined from 19 per cent during NFHS-4 to 13 per cent during NFHS-5.

The overall contraceptive prevalence rate in Haryana among married women (aged 15-49 years) rose from 63.7 per cent during NFHS-4 to 73.1 per cent during NFHS-5. During the same period, the use of modern contraceptive methods among women also increased from 59.4 per cent to 60.5 per cent.

The report states that the total fertility rate in the state was 1.9 children per woman, a decrease from the rate of 2.1 children per woman recorded during NFHS-4.

Among women who gave birth in the five years preceding the survey, about 63 per cent received antenatal care from a doctor and 24 per cent received antenatal care from an auxiliary nurse midwife, a lady health visitor, a nurse or a midwife. Roughly two per cent of women reported not receiving any antenatal care.

Almost 77 per cent of children (aged 12-23 months) in Haryana have received all basic vaccinations against six major childhood illnesses – tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio and measles. Only four per cent of children in this age group have not received any vaccinations at all.

The infant mortality rate increased from 32.8 deaths (before the age of one) per 1,000 live births during NFHS-4 to 33.3 deaths. The under-five mortality rate reduced during the same period from 41.1 deaths (before the age of five) per 1,000 live births to 38.7 deaths during NFHS-5.

As high as 70.4 per cent of children between the ages of 6-59 months had anaemia. Prevalence of anaemia was also noted in men (19 per cent) and women (61 per cent) aged 15-49 years.

The report states that the percentage of children who were stunted (too short for their age) declined from 34 per cent during NFHS-4 to 28 per cent during NFHS-5. The number of children who were wasted (too thin for their height) also reduced from 21 per cent to 12 per cent during the same time period.

Around 93.2 per cent of the women (aged 15-24 years) surveyed in Haryana used hygienic methods of menstrual protection. These include sanitary napkins (80.5 per cent), tampons (0.8 per cent) and menstrual cups (0.3 per cent).

Of all the people surveyed in the state, 88.4 per cent of women and 96.5 per cent of men had heard of HIV/AIDS. Only 19.7 per cent of women and 36.4 per cent of men, however, had ‘comprehensive’ knowledge about it.

As per self-reports (questionnaires answered without researcher guidance), 105 people per 100,000 were estimated to have medically treated tuberculosis in Haryana. As per similar reports, 1,775 women per 100,000 women, and 1,317 men per 100,000 men (aged 15-49 years) had diabetes.

In Haryana, 19 per cent of women between the ages of 18-49 years reported having experienced either physical or sexual violence and three per cent reported experiencing both. Only 10 per cent of women who had ever experienced such violence sought help, the report notes.

Focus and Factoids by Swadesha Sharma.

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.