The government has decided to drop questions related to disability in the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) which is to commence in the month of July. This decision has bleaked hopes of disability activists who say it would be a lost opportunity to get disaggregated disability data that could guide policies.

The last NFHS of 2019-21 which included questions on disability indicated that 4.5% of the population constituted people with disabilities much higher than the 2.2% records of the Census. This survey covers approximately seven households and is a huge opportunity to get important data on the access that people with disabilities have to amenities like water, sanitation, etc.

The Survey officer revealed that the NFHS survey did not give accurate data in regard to disability.

'Disability is decided on medical certification. Surveyors are not doctors and they cannot be checking medical certificates. People could not understand the questions properly.

Hence, the NFHS Committee decided to drop the questions instead of giving inaccurate data. Even the data collected of the last survey for disability was never put out.

A more official and detailed survey on disability would be more appropriate.

Disability activists asked why self-declaration was not good enough for disability when the caste of a person is decided on the basis of self-declaration. There the checking certificates are not required.

Disability Rights Foundation remarked that instead of broadening the questionnaire on the disability front and making it more relevant by consulting people with disabilities. It has reversed the process by removing disability altogether.

Removal of Disability Questions from the Survey is like contradicting the principle of 'leave no behind' under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and even for the fulfillment of SDG's, disability data is crucial.

India is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and SDG's which emphasize the need for governments to collect statistical and research data to formulate and implement policies.

The statement urged the Health Ministry, Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry and NITI Aayog to immediately intervene and facilitate the inclusion of questions on disability in NFHS-6 in consultation with persons with Disabilities.

Disability as an aspect of social inequality is now gaining primal significance both in research studies and policy frameworks.

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Reference:

• m.timesofindia.com