The sixth National Family Health Survey (ENSF) 2023-2024, presented yesterday at the Indian Embassy in Tsaralalàna, reveals that access to healthcare, banking, and digital services is durably transforming household well-being.
Women's empowerment is a key driver of improved family health. This is the central conclusion of the sixth National Family Health Survey (ENSF) 2023-2024, presented yesterday at the Indian Embassy in Tsaralalàna.
The survey identifies three areas where women's empowerment produces concrete effects on family health. Maternal health shows notable improvement through increased use of health services, reducing pregnancy and childbirth-related risks. Financial inclusion is also progressing, with growing access for women to personal bank accounts, enabling better management of household health expenses. Digital access is developing too: use of phones and the Internet facilitates access to medical information and preventive measures.
"The health and well-being of the population depend on the quality of infrastructure," said Mohit Kumar, chargé d'affaires of the Indian Embassy, emphasizing that combining technology, support for local communities, and cross-sector collaboration is key to achieving development goals.
India, which presented this survey, affirms its commitment to supporting Madagascar on this path. The Indian government proposes several initiatives: provision of prosthetics for disabled persons, development of medical tourism—as many Malagasy already travel to India for treatment—and sharing of telemedicine expertise. In 2019, India had already donated the Bahbatron 2 Simulator machine, dedicated to cancer treatment and presented as unique in Madagascar. "If the Malagasy State has proposals, we are open and ready to help," said the chargé d'affaires.
For him, capacity building and quality education remain essential to promote healthcare access and women's autonomy, the cornerstone of family health.