State gains in maternal & child health indicators: NFHS-6

Dehradun: Uttarakhand has recorded improvement across key indicators related to maternal, neonatal and child health, as well as nutrition, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-6.Officials of the department of medical health and family welfare said a comparison of NFHS-5 (2019-21) and NFHS-6 (2023-24) showed gains in early pregnancy registration, antenatal care, institutional deliveries and child vaccination, said director general (DG) of the health department Dr Sunita Tamta.Registration of pregnant women during the first trimester increased from 68.8% to 80.6%, higher than the national average of 76.2%. Antenatal care (ANC) coverage rose from 91.8% to 98.3%, while institutional deliveries increased from 83.2% to 88.9%. Deliveries conducted by trained health personnel also went up from 83.7% to 90.3%. Nationally, ANC coverage stood at 95.9% and institutional deliveries at 90.6%.The survey also showed improvement in newborn and child health indicators. The proportion of newborns receiving postnatal care within two days of birth increased from 78.9% to 86.7%, compared with the national average of 82.8%. Child vaccination coverage rose from 81.1% to 86%, against the national average of 82.6%.Among children, stunting declined from 27% to 20%, compared with the national average of 24.6%. Wasting reduced from 13.2% to 11%, while severe wasting fell from 4.7% to 2%. The proportion of underweight children dropped from 21% to 19.6%, while overweight children declined from 4.1% to 0.7%. Nationally, wasting stood at 12.3%, severe wasting at 2.7%, underweight children at 23.2% and overweight children at 1.5%.“Uttarakhand is consistently working towards ensuring that every pregnant woman receives accessible, timely and quality healthcare services. The positive NFHS-6 findings demonstrate that our health system is moving in the right direction, and we remain committed to further strengthening maternal and newborn health services in the coming years,” said Dr Rashmi Pant, director, National Health Mission (NHM), Uttarakhand.Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the NFHS-6 findings reflected the state govt's welfare policies, healthcare services and the efforts of health workers. Health and medical education minister Subodh Uniyal said the results reflected the state's commitment to maternal, neonatal, child and community health.