The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) provides a rich source of data to uncover important public health stories.
One significant data story from the Tamil Nadu NFHS-5 is the contrast between strong maternal healthcare access and continuing nutritional challenges among women.
NFHS-5 shows that Tamil Nadu performs well in maternal health indicators. A very high percentage of births take place in health institutions, and most pregnant women receive antenatal care (ANC). This indicates effective implementation of public health schemes and relatively good healthcare infrastructure.
However, despite this progress, NFHS-5 reveals that anaemia among women remains alarmingly high. A large proportion of women aged 15–49 are anaemic, including pregnant and breastfeeding women. This highlights a hidden public health crisis that is not immediately visible through healthcare access data alone.
The data story suggests that access to services does not automatically ensure better health outcomes. Factors such as poor dietary diversity, socio-economic inequalities, gendered food distribution within households, and lack of micronutrient intake contribute to persistent anaemia. Rural women and women from marginalized communities are particularly vulnerable.
This data story is important because it shifts the policy focus from merely improving service delivery to addressing underlying nutritional and social determinants of health. NFHS data thus helps policymakers, journalists, and researchers identify gaps between policy success and lived realities.
The NFHS data story from Tamil Nadu demonstrates how quantitative health surveys can uncover contradictions in development and guide more targeted, evidence-based interventions.
The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) provides a rich source of data to uncover important public health stories. One significant data story from the Tamil Nadu NFHS-5 is the contrast between strong maternal healthcare access and continuing nutritional challenges among women.
NFHS-5 shows that Tamil Nadu performs well in maternal health indicators. A very high percentage of births take place in health institutions, and most pregnant women receive antenatal care (ANC). This indicates effective implementation of public health schemes and relatively good healthcare infrastructure.
However, despite this progress, NFHS-5 reveals that anaemia among women remains alarmingly high. A large proportion of women aged 15–49 are anaemic, including pregnant and breastfeeding women. This highlights a hidden public health crisis that is not immediately visible through healthcare access data alone.
The data story suggests that access to services does not automatically ensure better health outcomes. Factors such as poor dietary diversity, socio-economic inequalities, gendered food distribution within households, and lack of micronutrient intake contribute to persistent anaemia. Rural women and women from marginalized communities are particularly vulnerable.
