NFHS row | Disability data will not change very fast and need not be collected every three years, says Health Ministry

Disability data will not change very fast and there is no reason to collect this data every three years, said the Health Ministry, in response to criticism over the exclusion of disability-related questions in the sixth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) which is set to begin shortly.

Disability data will not change very fast and there is no reason to collect this data every three years, said the Health Ministry, in response to criticism over the exclusion of disability-related questions in the sixth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) which is set to begin shortly.

Stating that the primary focus of NFHS is maternal and child health, the Department of Health and Family Welfare (Statistics Division) said that the Survey won’t be able to collect accurate data on disability in its current form. It pointed to the disparity in disability data collected by NFHS and National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) and asserted that “it is not possible to capture the all-India extent of disability” through NFHS and warned about the risk of “significantly underestimating the prevalence of disability”.

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In its two-page communication, dated June 22, the Department said that most of the data related to disability are already available in the ‘Report of NSS 76th round’, which was a dedicated survey conducted during July-December 2018 to collect detailed information on this aspect.

“And, any specific information can be tabulated from the raw data, which is also available in the public domain,’’ it said.

It went on to explain that questions are included in the NFHS-6 based on recommendations by the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and other higher-level committees constituted for smooth functioning of the Survey.

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