Vikrant Shekhawat : Nov 24, 2021, 09:25 PM
New Delhi : There has been a decline in the fertility rate in the country. It has come down from 2.2 to two. The Union Health Ministry has released the data for the second phase of the National Family Welfare Survey-5 (NHFS-5). In this it is concluded. The survey was conducted in 14 states and union territories including UP, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand. In the first phase, data for 22 states was released in December last year. The NHFS-5 survey has been done between 2019 and 2021.The total fertility rate (average number of children per woman) of the country was recorded at 2.2 in the NHFS-4 survey conducted in the year 2015-16. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and NITI Aayog member Dr. VK Pal released this survey in a program on Wednesday. Accordingly, the total fertility rate at the national level has been recorded as 2. The lowest fertility rate was recorded in Chandigarh at 1.4 and the highest in UP at 2.4.According to the report, barring Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and UP, almost all the states have achieved the target of bringing down the fertility rate to 2.1 or below. According to the report, the rate of use of contraceptives has increased from 54 to 67 percent nationally. But in Punjab this rate is still low. There has also been an increase in the use of modern methods of contraception.Vaccination also increasedAccording to the report, there has been an increase in immunization of children aged 12 to 23 months, which has increased from 62 to 76 percent. In 11 of the 14 states surveyed, more than three-quarters of children of this age have been vaccinated. The highest 90% vaccination has been recorded in Odisha.Increase in pregnant women getting testedSimilarly, the percentage of pregnant women who got four or more prenatal tests has also increased from 51 to 58 percent. Except Punjab, progress has been made in almost all the states. Similarly, institutional deliveries have increased from 79 to 89 per cent. Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have recorded 100% institutional deliveries. Whereas in seven states it was more than 90 percent. However, what is worrying is that the cases of surgical deliveries have also increased in the institutional deliveries in the private sector.Little progress in child nutritionLittle progress has been made in child nutrition. The percentage of children with short stature has come down from 38 to 36. While the number of weak (weight to height ratio) children declined from 21 to 19 per cent. The number of underweight children decreased from 36 to 32 percent.79% women have bank accountsAccording to the report, the percentage of women operating a bank account has increased from 53 to 79.