Half of households don’t seek govt health care

• NFHS-5:The survey report shows that the percentage of households that did not generally use a government health facility during 2019-21 was 49.9%.
• It is lower than the 55.1% recorded in the previous round of NFHS-4 in 2015-16.

Statistics of Health care availability

During 2019-21, the proportion of such households was highest in Bihar (80%), followed by Uttar Pradesh (75%).

• The lowest - less than 5% was recorded in Ladakh, Lakshadweep, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Reasons for not availing

The poor quality of care (reported by 48% of households that do not generally use government facilities).

• The long waiting time at government facilities (46%).
• No government facility nearby (40% of households).
• NFHS-4 in 2015-16, 48% of households that did not seek health care from the government health facilities had cited “poor quality of care” as the biggest reason.

The Latest Findings

According to the latest report, 46.9% families in urban areas and 51.7% in rural areas used the public health sector during 2019-21.

The proportion of households availing the private health sector stood at 51.8% in cities and 46.4% in villages.

Exam Track

Prelims Takeaway

• Health care availability in India
• NFHS-5 statistics