The Odisha State report of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), a multi-dimensional picture of the welfare and health of the people of Odisha, 2015-16, was released by the Department of Health and Family Welfare Commissioner-cum-Secretary at the NFHS-4 State dissemination seminar held here on Tuesday.
According to the report, many critical health indicators for Odisha are encouraging, especially in areas of institutional delivery, utilisation of public health facilities for institutional delivery and postnatal care, full immunisation coverage, reduction in anaemia and reduction in IMR and under-five mortality rate.
As per the report, fertility has declined by 0.3 children in 10 years between NFHS-3 and NFHS-4. Odisha’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is 2.1 children per woman while in urban areas, fertility is 1.7 children per woman (well below the replacement level) and in rural areas fertility is at the replacement level (2.1 children per woman).
The report mentioned that the percentage of currently married women who use a contraceptive method is 57 per cent, an increase of 6 percentage points since NFHS-3. likewise, the use of contraceptive pills has increased from seven per cent in NFHS-3 to 12 per cent in NFHS-4.
While in the antenatal the report mentioned that three-fifths of women (62 per cent) have had at least four antenatal care (ANC) visits during their last pregnancy, against national average of 51.2 per cent, which has been substantially increased from 36.9 per cent in NFHS-3. Significantly, 97.2 per cent of registered pregnant women had received the Mother and Child Protection Card.
Similarly, the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has decreased and the full immunisation coverage has increased substantially.
While in malnutrition, in comparison to NFHS-3, a little more than one-third of children under age five years are stunted, or too short for their age and 20 per cent are wasted or too thin for their height, which results from inadequate food intake or a recent illness.
Anaemia among children has dramatically declined by 20 percentage points since NFHS-3 and anaemia among pregnant women has decreased by 20.5 per cent to 47.6 per cent, which is better than national average of 50.3 per cent.
Among others, Prof SK Singh, Dr Manas Pradhan, Dr Sarang Pedgaonkar, Vaidehi Yelamanchali, Dr laxmi Kant Dwivedi and Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar Director were present.