COVERAGE OF NUTRITION AND HEALTH INTERVENTIONS IN HIMACHAL PRADESH: INSIGHTS FROM THE NATIONAL FAMILY HEALTH SURVEY-4

Click here to download PDF

It is crucial to understand the coverage of nutrition and health interventions to gain further insights into their effectiveness and impact. We present this Data Note that describes the coverage of a set of key nutrition and health interventions in Himachal Pradesh, a north Indian state, situated in the Himalayan mountain range. The findings here are based on data from the National Family Health Survey 2015-2016.

India’s policy framework for health and nutrition is robust and includes most evidence-based nutrition and health interventions. Two large-scale national program platforms – the Integrated Child Development Services and the National Health Mission together provide the public sector delivery platforms with the mandate to deliver these interventions across the country. India’s efforts at scaling up nutrition interventions are now also supported by the National Nutrition Mission (or POSHAN Abhiyaan).

Findings of this Data Note reveal that Himachal Pradesh has a fairly high coverage (≥75%) of interventions before and during pregnancy, like iodized salt, any antenatal care (ANC) visits, mother and child protection (MCP) cards, iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation, weighing, food supplementation, and tetanus toxoid injection. However, the coverage of interventions like deworming, breastfeeding counselling, and health & nutrition education is below 50%, and the state should focus efforts on increasing it. For deeper insights into the coverage of key nutrition and health interventions in the state of Himachal Pradesh, with district-wise status, please download this Data Note on "Coverage of Nutrition and Health Interventions in HIMACHAL PRADESH: Insights from the National Family Health Survey-4".