Infant and Child Mortality in Andhra Pradesh: Analysing changes over time and between states

Abstract

Most countries of the world are reducing infant and child mortality too slowly to meet the Millennium Development Goal of a two-thirds reduction by 2015. Yet, some countries and
regions have achieved impressive reductions, Kerala in India being one example. This paper examines the determinants of infant and child mortality in Andhra Pradesh, where the Young Lives project is taking place, and Kerala and the factors explaining their differential performance.
The determinants of mortality are estimated using a Cox proportional hazards model. Infant mortality is found to depend on biological factors, including mother’s age and birth order, and
also factors related to health service provision such as tetanus injection and use of antenatal
services. Economic well being is not significant once these other factors are taken into account.
By contrast, economic well-being is a significant determinant of child mortality, but substantially
outweighed in importance by other factors such as maternal education and knowledge of health
practices (ORS) and access to safe water. The data also show gender discrimination in Andhra
Pradesh, notably toward girls with only female siblings, which is absent from Kerala. We
conclude that raising service levels across India toward the levels found in Kerala is a necessary
step toward meeting the MDGs, and that the success of these efforts is reinforced by female
empowerment.

Item Type:

MPRA Paper

Original Title:

Infant and Child Mortality in Andhra Pradesh: Analysing changes over time and between states

Filmer D., and Pritchett L. (1999) The impact of public spending on health: does money matter?, Social Science and Medicine, 49: 1309-1323.

Fogel R.W. (1997), New Findings on Secular Trends in Nutrition and Mortality: Some Implications for Population Theory, in Rosenzweig M.R. and O. Stark, Handbook of Population and Family Economics, Elsevier, Amsterdam.

Wolpin, K.I. (1997) Determinants and Consequences of the Mortality and Health of Infants and Children, in Rosenzweig M.R. and O. Stark, Handbook of Population and Family Economics, Elsevier, Amsterdam.

World Bank (1998), Health, Nutrition and Population Indicators. A Statistical Handbook. The World Bank, Washington D.C.

World Bank (2001), World Development Indicators, 2001. The World Bank, Washington D.C.