6th National Family Health Survey expected to be released next month

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare conducts the NFHS, which provides high-quality and comparable data on population dynamics and health indicators. The survey also provides data on emerging issues in health and family welfare and associated domains, so as to assist policy-makers and programme implementing agencies in setting benchmarks.

The sixth round of the National Family Health Survey is expected to be released next month, official sources said on Tuesday. The NFHS is among the largest and most comprehensive sample surveys undertaken in the country. According to the sources, the NFHS-6 covered 6,79,238 households across states and Union Territories of the country, and was conducted during 2023-24. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare conducts the NFHS, which provides high-quality and comparable data on population dynamics and health indicators. The ministry has designated the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, as the nodal agency for providing coordination and technical guidance for the survey. The survey also provides data on emerging issues in health and family welfare and associated domains, so as to assist policy-makers and programme implementing agencies in setting benchmarks. The survey also aims to assess progress over time in India's health sector. The fifth round of NFHS was conducted in 2019-21. The NFHS-6 has used entirely digital mode for data collection using Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) software, which incorporates in-built provisions for real-time error detection, checks, and data scrutiny, they said. The data collection involved rigorous field supervision and monitoring. Multi-level scrutiny during data processing, extensive validation and review have been undertaken to ensure the accuracy, consistency, and reliability of the estimates.