Countries must have accurate data for developing effective policies and programs to meet the health needs of their people. To provide India with key information on its population, child and maternal health, and nutrition at the national and state levels, USAID supports the National Family Health Survey (NFHS). The NFHS is a multi-round survey that produces a comprehensive database to assist Indian health officials in making evidence-based decisions for allocating resources to address the country’s health challenges. Having conducted two earlier NFHS surveys, the Government of India has asked USAID to act as the lead coordinating agency for donors during the survey’s third fielding, NFHS-3.

New to NFHS-3 is community-level HIV testing, which for the first time provides an accurate picture of India’s HIV/AIDS epidemic, how it is spreading and how best to combat it. Other additions to the survey include: questions to collect comprehensive data on domestic violence; inclusion of unmarried women above the age of 15 (in addition to married women) as respondents, giving a better understanding of women’s health issues; and questions that track single and married men’s sexual behaviors and health attitudes, providing insight on how households make healthcare decisions. NFHS-3 also will establish city-level estimates for eight large- and medium-sized cities to inform comparative debates on the health status of the urban poor in each.

Like the previous surveys, NFHS-3 not only collects data, it enhances India’s data collection capabilities. Collaborating with Indian institutions, the survey strengthens their abilities to continue to collect, analyze and use crucial health data.