The National Family Health Survey-VI (NFHS-6) is a large-scale, multi-round household survey, which is a key concept in Indian public health and demography. It is the sixth round of the survey, conducted during 2023–2024 under the stewardship of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India. The NFHS was first launched in 1992–93 (NFHS-1) to collect reliable, up-to-date information on fertility, family planning, mortality, and maternal and child health, addressing the need for a strong demographic and health database.
The survey mechanism involves the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, acting as the nodal agency for coordination and technical guidance. NFHS-6 covered approximately 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts to provide estimates at the national and district levels. It works by collecting data on a wide range of indicators, including fertility, infant and child mortality, nutrition, and women's empowerment. The data is crucial for evidence-based policymaking and monitoring the progress of national health schemes like the Ayushman Bharat and POSHAN Abhiyaan.
A significant recent change in NFHS-6 is that, for the first time, all aspects of the survey were coordinated solely by the IIPS, Mumbai, with funding provided by the MoHFW, marking a shift from previous rounds that received technical assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). However, the latest fact sheet for NFHS-6 has seen a reduction in the number of key indicators from 131 in NFHS-5 to 101, with data on crucial metrics like anaemia, sex ratio at birth, and infant and child mortality missing from the initial release. Conversely, new topics like Direct Bank Transfer (DBT), Self-Help Group (SHG) coverage, and digital literacy were introduced in NFHS-6.