Effects on Household Environmental Health Hazards to Child Survival in selected states in India

Most deaths of children under age five in India and other developing countries are linked to the household environment. This study, therefore, hypothesized that variations in household environments could affect children’s survival chances. Using secondary data from National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) round 3, the study broadly categorized the eight selected states into low and high under-five mortality groups. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan are selected as high under five mortality group and Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are selected as low under-five mortality group. The household environmental variables include sources of drinking water, time to water source, types of toilet facilities, main flooring material and type of cooking fuel. The study found that high-mortality states are at a relative disadvantage on basic household environmental variables. Differences found in childhood morbidity and mortality between low and high under-five mortality states can be explained by levels of household environmental health hazards and by mother’s socioeconomic status. In order to meet Millennium Development Goal 4—to reduce under-five mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015—attention should be given to the high mortality states to distribute of resources and facilities for better tomorrow.