Under-Five Mortality and Associated Factors in India: An Analysis for Small Areas

Emerson Baptista, El Colegio de Mexico
Subhojit Shaw, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Sampurna Kundu, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Under-5 mortality refers to the death of children before they reach the age of five. It is a critical indicator of child health and overall development within a country. In this study, we used data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted in 2015-16 to estimate under-5 mortality in small areas in India, taking into consideration some socioeconomic and demographic variables. We examined the possible relationship between these factors and under-five mortality using a Bayesian hierarchical model for 677 districts based on the Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation (INLA). Overall, our results indicate that excess mortality is more widespread in the northern and northeastern states of India. Furthermore, Hindu children and children of literate mothers are less likely to die before completing their fifth birthday. On the other hand, children in socially deprived classes, those who do not receive exclusive breastfeeding, and those with non-institutional deliveries showed higher risk of under-5 mortality. The findings from the present study emphasize the urgent need for focused approaches to tackle under-five mortality in India. Diverse factors, such as biophysical issues, socio-demographic challenges, and inadequate access to healthcare, must be addressed not only to strengthen the healthcare infrastructure but also to promote maternal education and bridge socioeconomic disparities.

Keywords: Mortality and Longevity, Bayesian methods , Spatial Demography, Small area estimation

See paper.