Disability activists demand inclusion of questions on disability in the NFHS
The disability activists say that disability disaggregated data is the corner stone for disability relevant services in any country.
Representative image
CHENNAI: Even as the National Family Health Survey-6 is scheduled to commence in July, the disability activists noted that the disability related questions are absent from the survey.
The disability activists say that disability disaggregated data is the corner stone for disability relevant services in any country. In India, the National Family Health Survey can be utilised to collect disability related data.
National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is being carried out every 3 years with countrywide sampling. The members of Disability Rights India Foundation state that NFHS-5 (2019-21) had disability related questions and collected data on disabilities, while information from reliable sources confirm that NFHS-6 has dropped questions on disability from its survey questionnaire.
Going forward, whilst NFHS needed to sharpen its questionnaire on the disability front and make it more relevant by consulting people with disabilities, it has reversed the process by removing disability related questions altogether.
The foundation urges the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment as well as Niti Aayog to immediately intervene and facilitate the inclusion of questions on disability in NFHS-6 in consultation with persons with disabilities.
A release from the foundation says that Article 31 of Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) emphasises 'States parties to collect appropriate information, including statistical and research data, to enable them to formulate and implement policies to give effect to the present Convention.'
"It should also be noted that Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires disability disaggregated data. NFHS is collecting a broad range of data on family, health status, health services, access to sanitation, domestic violence etc. that feed into various country wide policies and programmes. It is therefore vital that they include disability in the questionnaire," the release says.
Disability activists say that the draft National Policy for Persons with Disabilities 2021 reinforces the need for disability data collection and management to measure progress in the implementation of Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016. Thus, the questions related to disability are important in the survey and should be included.