Sibling Composition and Child Malnutrition in South Asia, 1992-2007

This study assesses the trends in child malnutrition by older surviving sibling composition during 1992-2007 in three South Asian countries, namely Bangladesh, India and Nepal. This study utilizes data from three rounds of Demographic and Health Surveys and considers weight-for-age as an indicator of child malnutrition based on 2006 WHO Standards. Combinations of sex composition of surviving older siblings were constructed. Cochran-Armitage and Chi squared statistics were applied to test linear and nonlinear trends respectively. Although child malnutrition declined during 1992-2007, result show an unacceptably higher prevalence of malnutrition in India (40%), followed by Bangladesh (37%) and Nepal (35%). Malnutrition has been lowest among boys and girls who did not have any older surviving siblings. However, the highest malnutrition was observed among those boys and girls who had at least one older surviving brother and sister. Findings confirm that not all girls and boys are treated equally, and there is a clear pattern of selective neglect in child malnutrition during 1992-2007.