Factors determining Child Health and Mortality: Evidence from a state in India

Under-nutrition is an ugly face of deprivation witnessed in the developing world that is experienced by adult and children alike. While undernourishment is a typical feature of poorer regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, it is also prevalent in developing regions at large including the South Asian region. This deprivation is in contrast with the experience of economic growth in recent times in countries of this region. In fact, the phenomenon of under nutrition has a regional divide within nations and makes population groups of specific characteristics and identity more vulnerable than others. According to the third round of the National Family Health Survey, it was observed that under-nutrition rates are relatively higher among the tribal population and those belonging to the lower wealth quintile group. The persistence of levels of undernourishment undoubtedly points towards the failure of the numerous governmental schemes targeted at addressing this menace. Such failure may be due to the absence of adequate monitoring mechanism in place, lack of accountability in its execution and governance and shortcomings arising out of the backwardness of the state and corruption.
With this pretext, the present study attempts to understand the dynamics of nutritional deprivation as major contributing factor for high mortality.