Page 319 - ES 2020-21_Volume-1-2 [28-01-21]

302 Economic Survey 2020-21 Volume 1

facility or health provider showed negligible improvement in West Bengal, with an increase of
10 per cent in the adjoining states (Figure 14).

Figure 14: Treatment of Childhood Diseases (children under age 5 years) :
West Bengal versus Adjoining States (Bihar, Sikkim, Assam)

Source: National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 4 and 5

9.37 Analysing the implications of the adoption of PM-JAY on the spread of knowledge and
awareness about HIV/AIDS, we find that while the proportion of women who have comprehensive
knowledge of HIV/AIDS increased significantly in the three states which adopted PM-JAY (Bihar,
Sikkim, Assam), the proportion declined by 1 per cent in West Bengal, which did not adopt PM-
JAY. The same indicator for men recorded a decline in all four states, though the decline was much
sharper in West Bengal (-40 per cent) as compared to other three states (-19 per cent) (Bihar, Sikkim,
Assam). The differences amongst the states are even sharper if we consider the proportion of men
and women who know that consistent condom use can reduce the chance of getting HIV/AIDS. For
example, in West Bengal the proportion of women increased moderately by 12 per cent as compared
to the sharp increase of 43 per cent in the three adjoining states. The similar figures for men indicate
a decline of 12 per cent in West Bengal in contrast to a rise of 18 per cent in Bihar, Sikkim and Assam
(Figure 15).

Figure 15: Knowledge of HIV/AIDS among Adults (age 15-49 years):
West Bengal versus Adjoining States (Bihar, Sikkim, Assam)

Source: National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 4 and 5