Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir has registered significant improvements in child healthcare indicators, with higher immunisation coverage, better postnatal care and a decline in childhood illnesses and malnutrition, according to the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) 2023-24.
However, the survey has flagged concerns over declining exclusive breastfeeding practices and poor dietary adequacy among young children.
The NFHS-6 data show that postnatal care services have improved in the Union Territory over the past few years. As many as 88.2 per cent of mothers received postnatal care from a doctor, nurse, midwife or other health personnel within two days of delivery, compared to 84.2 per cent recorded in NFHS-5 (2019-21).
Similarly, 88.7 per cent of newborns received postnatal care within two days of birth, up from 81.5 per cent in the previous survey, reflecting improved access to maternal and newborn healthcare services.
The survey also indicates major gains in child immunisation. Full immunisation coverage among children aged 12-23 months increased to 89.4 per cent from 86.2 per cent in NFHS-5. Among children whose vaccination status was verified through immunisation cards, the coverage stood at 93.7 per cent.
Coverage for individual vaccines also improved. About 97.5 per cent of children aged 12-23 months received the BCG vaccine, compared to 95.1 per cent earlier. The proportion of children receiving three doses of the polio vaccine rose to 90.3 per cent from 87.6 per cent, while those receiving three doses of the pentavalent vaccine increased to 93.6 per cent from 92.8 per cent.
The uptake of the first dose of measles-containing vaccine improved to 95 per cent, while the second dose witnessed a substantial jump to 82.4 per cent from 73.6 per cent recorded in NFHS-5. The birth dose of the Hepatitis-B vaccine was administered to 94.1 per cent of eligible children, up from 88.1 per cent.
Vitamin A supplementation also recorded modest progress, with 84 per cent of children aged 9-35 months receiving the supplement during the six months preceding the survey compared to 82.3 per cent in the previous round.
The prevalence of common childhood illnesses showed a decline. Cases of diarrhoea among children under five years fell to 4.1 per cent from 5.6 per cent, while symptoms of acute respiratory infection (ARI) dropped to 2.1 per cent from 3.8 per cent.
Among children exhibiting ARI symptoms, 67.2 per cent were taken to a healthcare provider, an improvement over 62.3 per cent reported in NFHS-5.
Despite these gains, the survey highlighted worrying trends in infant feeding practices. Early initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of birth declined to 52.8 per cent from 55.6 per cent. Exclusive breastfeeding among infants below six months also fell to 59.2 per cent, compared to 62 per cent in the previous survey.
At the same time, continued breastfeeding among children aged 6-23 months improved marginally to 93.8 per cent from 92.6 per cent.
Complementary feeding practices showed mixed results. The proportion of children aged 6-8 months receiving solid or semi-solid foods along with breastmilk increased significantly to 64.7 per cent from 41.8 per cent. However, only 18.9 per cent of children aged 6-23 months were found to be receiving an adequate diet, though this represented an improvement from 12.8 per cent in NFHS-5.
The survey recorded encouraging reductions in malnutrition indicators. Stunting among children under five declined to 21.4 per cent from 26.9 per cent, while wasting dropped sharply to 10.6 per cent from 19 per cent. Severe wasting was nearly halved, decreasing to 4.1 per cent from 9.7 per cent.
Similarly, the proportion of underweight children fell to 14.5 per cent from 21 per cent. The prevalence of overweight children remained largely unchanged at 9.2 per cent compared to 9.6 per cent in the previous survey.
