Anaemia data missing from NFHS-6 fact sheets; govt says new survey will fill gap

New Delhi: The absence of anaemia estimates from the newly launched Nationwide Household Well being Survey (NFHS)-6 Fact Sheets has sparked questions amongst public well being consultants, with the federal government saying the indicator was excluded due to issues over the blood-testing technique utilized in earlier survey rounds.Well being Ministry officers mentioned haemoglobin testing was not carried out in NFHS-6 because of issues in regards to the capillary blood sampling technique used earlier. As a substitute, anaemia estimates will come from the Indian Council of Medical Analysis’s Food plan and Biomarkers Survey, which makes use of venous blood samples and is anticipated to supply extra correct outcomes.The clarification comes amid debate over the absence of a number of indicators from the NFHS-6 Fact Sheets, which cowl 101 key well being, vitamin and demographic measures.Officers confused that the Fact Sheets are solely the primary stage of data dissemination and never the ultimate NFHS-6 report. An in depth Nationwide Report, to be launched later, will include extra indicators, analyses and methodological particulars.The ministry additionally rejected ideas that key indicators had been dropped. Based on officers, some data are actually being generated by way of specialised surveys and administrative techniques. For instance, sanitation and clear cooking gasoline protection are tracked by way of devoted surveys, whereas mortality and start registration statistics proceed to return from techniques such because the Pattern Registration System and Civil Registration System.On the identical time, NFHS-6 has added new indicators, together with inhabitants composition, aged inhabitants share, monetary inclusion, antenatal care utilisation, vaccination protection, extreme diarrhoeal illness prevalence and expanded breastfeeding measures.Officers mentioned detailed household planning indicators, chosen baby well being interventions, girls’s well being measures and HIV-related findings will be included within the full Nationwide Report.“The Fact Sheets are the primary stage of dissemination. The detailed Nationwide Report will present a much wider image,” a senior Well being Ministry official mentioned.The ministry maintained that NFHS stays India’s largest family well being survey and continues to be a key supply of proof for well being coverage and planning.