India’s latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS) has recorded a grim picture of public health in the country. While several indicators such as mothers getting institutional help during deliveries and awareness about risk factors are improving, health parameters looked worse in 2019-20 as compared to 2015-16.
A serious cause for concern is the prevalence of acute respiratory illnesses, which has increased among children in most states. Of the 22 states for which data was released, the eight most populous states – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana and West Bengal – are analysed here.
Six of these eight states saw a rise in child respiratory infections in the four-year period. In Kerala, nearly 3 per cent of children had respiratory illness in 2019-20, up from 0.4 per cent in 2015-16.
The reason partly lies in child nutrition, which has either stayed at levels of 2015-16 or worsened since.
Five out of the eight states had more stunted children under five in 2019-20 than before. Stunting means having low height for a particular age, and it is associated with hampering of cognitive abilities in childhood. And three out of the eight saw a rise in wasting (low weight for a particular height) among children under five.
Though its impact is considered to be short-term than stunting, wasting makes a child more susceptible to infections, and is associated with increased child mortality.
India’s epidemiological transition began after economic liberalisation boosted urbanisation, and low prevalence of healthy habits catapulted the rise of “lifestyle-induced” diseases. Developed states tend to have a higher prevalence of such non-communicable diseases than nutritional diseases, which are higher in relatively underdeveloped states.
Nearly one in four men had a pre-diabetic condition, or had diabetes, as recorded by the 2019-20 survey. And about one in five had hypertension and blood pressure-related ailments. These are all conditions that can lead to complications in the event of a Covid-19 infection.
Data from the Department of Health and Family Welfare, released in October, showed the stark difference. Without co-morbidities, 0.2 per cent of Covid-19 patients below the age of 45 died. But with ailments such as these, the case fatality rate rose to 8.8 per cent.
Even for seriously ill Covid-19 patients above the age of 60, when immune responses are weaker, those with co-morbidities have a higher chance of dying (one in four) than those without (one in 20).
Data as released in October; Eight major states, data available for 22; Small, hilly, and Northeastern states have been left out of analysis for now
Source: Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor
We, however, have a request.