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

In Manipur, 62 per cent of surveyed households were located in rural areas. Households in the state comprised of 4.3 members on an average. Only 22.6 per cent Manipuri households resided in pucca houses but almost 98 per cent of total surveyed households had access to electricity.

Of the total surveyed households, around 72 per cent had access to basic drinking water service. However, only 20.5 per cent of households had water piped into their dwelling, yard or plot.

Around 62 per cent of households in Manipur had basic sanitation service (improved facilities not shared among households) while 32 per cent had limited sanitation services (improved sanitation facilities shared by two or more households). As few as 0.5 per cent households in the state had no sanitation facility and used open spaces or fields.

Roughly 78 per cent of households owned a house and 95 per cent households had at least one member with a bank or post office account.

Among children aged 2-4 years, a higher percentage of girls (41.3 per cent) attended preschool than boys (39.3 per cent). School attendance among children aged 6-14 years was recorded at 97.3 per cent in Manipur. The figure fell to 84.3 per cent among children aged 15-17 years.

In Manipur, the total fertility rate (TFR) was 2.17 children per woman – 2.38 in rural areas and 1.84 in urban areas. It was a decrease from the TFR of 2.61 children per woman recorded in NFHS-4.

Knowledge of contraceptive methods was almost universal in the state. Among currently married women, the contraceptive prevalence rate rose steeply from 23.6 per cent in NFHS-4 to 61.3 per cent in NFHS-5. However, only 18.2 per cent of the women used modern methods of contraception like sterilisation, pill, intrauterine devices, injectables or condoms.

In NHFS-5, the infant mortality rate increased to 25 deaths (before the age of one) per 1,000 live births from the NFHS-4 figures of 21.7 deaths. The under-five mortality rate during the period remained nearly the same of around 30 deaths (before the age of five) per 1,000 live births.

There was a slight decrease in the percentage of children under five years of age who were stunted (too short for their age) from 29 per cent in NFHS-4 to 23 per cent in NFHS-5. The percentage of children who were wasted (too thin for their height) increased since NFHS-4 from 6.8 per cent to 10 per cent.

The report notes that 68.8 per cent of children in Manipur, aged 12-23 months, received all basic vaccinations against tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, and measles. Only around 2.8 per cent children (aged 12-23 months) in the state had not received any vaccinations.

As high as 42.8 per cent children (aged 6-59 months) in Manipur suffered from anaemia. This was a significant increase from the estimate of 22.8 per cent recorded in NFHS-4. Among people between the ages of 15-49 years, 29.4 per cent of women and six per cent of men were anaemic.

Almost all (99 per cent) men and women in Manipur had heard about HIV/AIDS but only 50.6 per cent of women and 55.9 per cent of men had comprehensive knowledge of it.

In Manipur, 83.3 per cent women aged 15-24 years used hygienic methods of menstrual protection – 89.6 per cent in urban areas and 79.9 per cent in rural areas. The report notes that 63.8 per cent women used cloth, 80.9 per cent used sanitary napkins, 3.9 per cent used locally prepared napkins, 0.7 per cent used menstrual cups and 0.1 per cent used tampons.

In the 12 months preceding the survey, employment was significantly lower among women (49.2 per cent) than men (82.2 per cent) aged 15-49 years.

As high as 37 per cent of women (aged 18-49 years) in the state reported having experienced either physical or sexual violence and four per cent reported experiencing both. Only three per cent of women who had experienced such violence sought help.

Focus and Factoids by Rupsa Nag.

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.