Survey rates women’s health low for state

Ranchi: Women in the state continue to live amid several social reservations and health issues, a national level study revealed.

Findings of the fourth national family health survey (NHFS), released by Union ministry of health and family welfare late last week, revealed that more than 34 out of every 100 married women (aged between 15 and 49 years) face assault at the hands of their husbands.

The study, conducted for the period of 2015-16, also shows 45 out of every 100 women have their own bank accounts. Only 35 out of every 100 women have mobile phones for their personal use, despite the fact that over 86% are actively involved in decision making of their respective households.

Though the Raghubar Das government launched a state-level scheme of providing subsidized sanitary napkins, only 39% of rural women use hygienic methods of protection during their menstrual period.

Awareness among the state’s women about complex diseases is low. The study, conducted across 24 districts of the state, documents that only 15.8% of the total female population are aware about HIV. This comes at a time when the literacy rate among Jharkhand’s women is higher than neighboring Bihar and Chhattisgarh.

All is not hunky and dory in the health sector as well. Only 4 out of every 100 women have undergone medical examinations of oral cavities and cervix. At a time when breast cancers across the country is on the rise, women here appear reluctant to get themselves examined with only 9% opting for regular check-ups.

While the state has shown improvement in tackling endemic anaemia, over 63% of pregnant women are anaemic. To make matters complicated, only 15.3% of them actually consume iron folic acid tablets during pregnancy. A total of 65 out of every 100 women are anaemic in the state.

Pravin Chandra, director of state health services, said health indicators for women have substantially improved since NFHS 3. “Several programs are underway and we are trying to achieve the targets. There may have been some shortfalls in the distribution of iron folic acid tablets. But we are very serious in improving all the indicators in the coming days.”