New Delhi: The percentage of children under three years of age who were breastfed within an hour of birth increased by nearly 10 percentage points, rising from 41.8 per cent in 2019-2021 (NFHS-5) to 50.1 per cent in 2023-24, according to the National Family Health Survey-6 released on Friday.
The new data reveals that 95.6 per cent of children under six months of age were breastfed during the survey period.
The Union Health Ministry stated that NFHS-6 indicates encouraging progress in child nutrition outcomes, showing a positive trajectory toward achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
However, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months declined from 63.7 per cent in NFHS-5 to 55.8 per cent in NFHS-6, as reported in the data.
Moreover, the prevalence of stunting (low height for age) among children under five years has significantly decreased from 35.5 per cent to 29.3 per cent, reflecting improvements in long-term nutritional outcomes.
The significant reduction in stunting prevalence provides strong evidence of progress in long-term nutritional transition and child health outcomes in India, according to the Health Ministry.
Severe wasting (being too thin for one’s height) also declined sharply from 7.7 per cent to 5.2 per cent, while the prevalence of underweight children under five experienced a slight decrease from 32.1 per cent to 31.8 per cent.
Additionally, improvements were observed in infant and young child feeding practices.
The percentage of children aged 6-8 months receiving solid or semi-solid food along with breast milk increased from 45.9 per cent to 59.5 per cent.
These gains are attributed to collaborative efforts across various ministries through flagship initiatives such as POSHAN Abhiyaan, Saksham Anganwadi, and POSHAN 2.0, alongside strengthened service delivery under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).
Complementary interventions under the National Health Mission (NHM), including maternal and child health services, Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs), Mother’s Absolute Affection (MAA), Infant and Young Child Feeding, Iron and folic acid supplementation and growth monitoring, have further contributed to improved outcomes, the ministry noted.
The NFHS-6 was conducted during 2023-24 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, with the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) in Mumbai serving as the nodal agency.
Covering nearly 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts, the survey provides vital evidence on population, health, nutrition and family welfare indicators and supports evidence-based planning and programme implementation up to the district level.
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