National Family and Health Survey: More women than men in India for the 1st time (Hindustan Times)

Hindustan Times published findings from the fifth round of the National Family and Health Survey (NFHS), which were released by the Union health ministry on November 24. Findings include that the improved sex ratio and sex ratio at birth is also a significant achievement; even though the real picture will emerge from the census, we can say for now looking at the results that our measures for women empowerment have steered us in the right direction; The findings on fertility decline are good news for maternal and child health and nutrition outcomes. However, the high fertility-high undernutrition states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand still need to see more progress on fertility reductions – improvements in those high burden states are essential to moving the all-India average for all outcomes,” said senior research fellow Purnima Menon. “The undernutrition improvements in UP and Bihar that are signaled in the NFHS-5 are also really promising and need deeper analyses to understand further,” Menon added.