IIPS & NFHS

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Why in News?
• About International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS)
• Objectives of IIPS
• About National Family Health Survey (NFHS)
• Major Highlights of NFHS-5
• About ESCAP Region

Why in News?

• A set of complaints against the functioning of the International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS) set off an inquiry by the Union government.
• This inquiry led to the resignation of the director of the IIPS, Prof K S James.

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About International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS):

• The International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) serves as a regional Institute for Training and Research in Population Studies for the ESCAP region (explained later in the article).
• It was established in Mumbai in July 1956 as a joint sponsorship of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, the Government of India and the United Nations.
• In 1985, it was declared as a ‘Deemed to be University’ under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956.
• The Institute is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Objectives of IIPS:

• To train persons from India and other countries in demography and related fields, including demographic aspects of family planning.
• To undertake scientific research on population problems which are of special importance to India and other countries in the ESCAP region.
• To collect, organize and disseminate demographic information about the population of India and other countries of the world.
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare designated IIPS as the nodal agency, responsible for providing coordination and technical guidance for the National Family Health Survey.

About National Family Health Survey (NFHS):

• The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India.
• The first National Family Health Survey (NFHS-1) was conducted in 1992-93. Subsequent NFHS’ were conducted as below –
  • NFHS-2 was conducted in 1998-99
  • NFHS-3 was conducted in 2005-06
  • NFHS-4 was conducted in 2015-16
  • NFHS-5 was conducted in 2019-21
• The main objective of successive rounds of the NFHS has been to provide reliable and comparable data relating to health and family welfare and other emerging areas in India.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

Major Highlights of NFHS-5:

• Report of the NFHS-5 was released in 2022.
• The report comprises of detailed information on key domains of population, health and family welfare; fertility; family planning; infant and child mortality; maternal and child health; nutrition and anaemia; morbidity and healthcare; women’s empowerment etc.
• Key results from NFHS-5 –
  • The Total Fertility Rates (TFR), an average number of children per women, has further declined from 2.2 to 2.0 at the national level between NFHS-4 & 5.
  • Overall Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) has increased substantially from 54% to 67% in the country.
  • Institutional Births have increased substantially from 79 percent to 89 percent in India.
  • Stunting has reduced from 38.4% to 35.5%, wasting from 21.0% to 19.3% and underweight prevalence is down from 35.8% to 32.1%, according to the data.
    • Stunting is defined as low height-for-age.
    • Wasting is defined as low weight-for-height.
  • Women (15-49 years) whose BMI is below normal has reduced from 22.9% in NFHS-4 to 18.7% in NFHS-5.
    • Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to adult men and women.

About ESCAP Region:

• The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in 1947.
• Objective: To overcome some of the region’s greatest challenges by providing results-oriented projects, technical assistance and capacity building to member States.
• The commission is composed of 53 Member States and 9 Associate members, mostly from the Asia and Pacific regions.
• The region covered by the commission is home to 4.1 billion people, or two-thirds of the world’s population.
• Headquarters: Bangkok, Thailand

Q1) Difference between Wasting & Underweight?

Wasting, based on a child’s weight and height, is a measure of acute nutritional deficiency. Underweight, based on weight and age, is a composite measure of both acute and chronic statuses.

Q2) What is BMI?

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person’s weight in kilograms (or pounds) divided by the square of height in meters (or feet). A high BMI can indicate high body fatness.

Source: IIPS director’s resignation accepted, wheels for exit set in motion months ago | PRS