Summary of findings of the 3^rd National Family Health Survey (2005-2006)

 

(Nationwide (unless specified) in women aged 15-49 and men 15-54)

The third National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), coordinated by the International

Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) under the aegis of the Government of India, was conducted in 2005-06. NFHS-3 provides information on fertility, mortality, family planning, HIV-related knowledge, and important aspects of nutrition, health, and health care.

Previously, national HIV prevalence estimates were derived primarily from sentinel surveillance among pregnant women attending government antenatal clinics. NFHS-3 was designed to provide a national estimate of HIV in the household population of women age 15-49 and men age 15-54, as well as separate HIV estimates for each of the six highest HIV prevalence states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland, and Tamil Nadu). However, blood for HIV testing could not be collected in Nagaland due to local opposition. A seventh low HIV prevalence state was also surveyed (Uttar Pradesh). In total 100,000 people were tested, 0.01% of the total population.

Below are the key findings from the survey that directly relate to HIV/AIDS and closely related issues. The full reports can be downloaded from http://nfhsindia.org/nfhs3_national_report.html

 

General HIV/AIDS awareness

• Only 61 % of women and 84 % of men have heard of HIV/AIDS.
• Awareness is lowest among rural women, women living in households with a low standard of living and women with no education.

Awareness of HIV prevention methods- “Almost two-thirds of Married Women Don’t Know That Condoms Prevent HIV”

• Overall, approximately 4 in 10 women and 7 in 10 men know each of the three ABC methods of prevention—abstinence, being faithful, and condoms. Knowledge of each prevention method rises with increasing education and wealth.
• Women and men with regular exposure to mass media are twice as likely to know each of the three methods of prevention as do adults without access to media.

Awareness of HIV transmission

• Nationwide, only 17 % of women and 33 % of men have ‘comprehensive knowledge’* of HIV/AIDS.
• Misconceptions about HIV/AIDS are common. Only 38 % of women and 61% of men know that a healthy-looking person can have HIV/AIDS.
• About two-thirds of women and half of men erroneously believe that HIV/AIDS can be transmitted by mosquito bites.
• Less than half of women (47 %) and almost two-thirds of men (63%) know that HIV can be transmitted from a mother to her baby, but only one-fifth know that the risk of such transmission can be reduced with the use of certain drugs
• There is a low level of knowledge of transmission from a mother to her child even among currently pregnant women, only 15 % are aware that transmission from a mother to her baby can be reduced by taking certain drugs

*  ‘Comprehensive knowledge’ means they know that a healthy-looking person can have HIV, that HIV/AIDS cannot be transmitted through mosquito bites or by sharing

food, and that condom use and fidelity help prevent HIV/AIDS.

Attitudes to PLHIV

• About three out of four women and men are willing to take care of a relative sick with HIV/AIDS in their own household and to allow a female teacher with HIV/AIDS who is not sick to continue teaching
• Less than two-thirds are willing to buy fresh vegetables from a vegetable seller who has HIV/AIDS.
• About two-thirds of women (64 %) and men (65 %) say that they would not want to keep secret that a family member was infected with HIV/AIDS.
• The % expressing accepting attitudes on all four of these indicators is low (34 % among women and 37 % among men).

HIV testing 

·         Only 3 % of women and 4 % of men had ever been tested for HIV, and some who were tested did not get the result of the test.

Sexual Behaviour

·         Among women and men age 15-49 who had sex in the 12 months preceding the survey, only 1 in every 1,000 women (0.1 %) and 2 in every 100 men (2 %) report having had two or more sexual partners in the previous 12 months.

·         The proportion of women and men who had sexual intercourse with someone other than a spouse/cohabiting partner in the 12 months prior to the survey is somewhat higher (1 in every 500 women and 5 in every 100 men).

·         Men who had sex with a non-marital/non-cohabiting partner were more than twice as likely as women to report condom use at such sex (38 %).

·         Overall, 62 % of men who reported having engaged in paid sex in the 12 months preceding the survey used a condom the last time they paid for sex.

HIV prevalence

• Nationwide, the HIV prevalence rate for the population age 15-49 is 0.28 %. This translates into 1.7 million HIV positive persons age 15-49 in India in April 2006, the midpoint of the NFHS-3 survey.
• The HIV prevalence rate is 0.22 % for women and 0.36 % for men age 15-49. The prevalence rates for the six states are: Manipur: 1.13 %; Andhra Pradesh: 0.97 %; Karnataka: 0.69 %; Maharashtra: 0.62 %; Tamil Nadu: 0.34 %; and Uttar Pradesh: 0.07 %.
• In 0.39 % of couples there were discordant HIV results, (one partner was infected and the other was not infected) For 82 % of these discordant  couples, the husband was HIV positive and the wife was HIV negative.
• This important new information about HIV prevalence has spurred the Government of India and international agencies to greatly reduce the official estimate of HIV prevalence for India to 2.47 million Indians, down from the official estimate of 5.2 million for the previous year. This new national estimate reflects the availability of improved data (from NFHS-3 and an expanded surveillance system) rather than a substantial decrease in actual HIV prevalence in India.

Family Life Education - “Most Adults Support Family Life Education”

• Most women (63 %) and men (81.5 %) believe information on HIV/AIDS should be part of the school curriculum for both boys and girls.
• About half of women and two-thirds of men think that girls should learn about contraception in school.
• More than 60 percent of men say that boys and girls should be taught about sex and sexual behaviour in school, but less than half of women feel that this is an appropriate topic to be taught to girls or boys in school.

Women’s Empowerment & Domestic Violence

• Most women and men believe a woman is justified in refusing her husband sex if she knows he has a sexually transmitted disease, if she knows he has sex with other women, or if she is tired or not in the mood.
• In all, 35 % of women in India have experienced physical or sexual violence.