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A closer look at child mortality among Adivasis in India

Author

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  • Das, Maitreyi Bordia
  • Kapoor, Soumya
  • Nikitin, Denis

Abstract

The authors use data from the National Family Health Survey 2005 to present age-specific patterns of child mortality among India's tribal (Adivasi) population. The analysis shows three clear findings. First, a disproportionately high number of child deaths are concentrated among Adivasis, especially in the 1-5 age group and in those states and districts where there is a high concentration of Adivasis. Any effort to reduce child morality in the aggregate will have to focus more squarely on lowering mortality among the Adivasis. Second, the gap in mortality between Adivasi children and the rest really appears after the age of one. In fact, before the age of one, tribal children face more or less similar odds of dying as other children. However, these odds significantly reverse later. This calls for a shift in attention from infant mortality or in general under-five mortality to factors that cause a wedge between tribal children and the rest between the ages of one and five. Third, the analysis goes contrary to the conventional narrative of poverty being the primary factor driving differences between mortality outcomes. Instead, the authors find that breaking down child mortality by age leads to a much more refined picture. Tribal status is significant even after controlling for wealth.

Suggested Citation

  • Das, Maitreyi Bordia & Kapoor, Soumya & Nikitin, Denis, 2010. "A closer look at child mortality among Adivasis in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5231, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5231
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Maity, Bipasha, 2017. "Comparing Health Outcomes Across Scheduled Tribes and Castes in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 163-181.
    2. Jayanta Kumar Bora & Rajesh Raushan & Wolfgang Lutz, 2018. "Contribution of Education to Infant and Under-Five Mortality Disparities among Caste Groups in India," VID Working Papers 1803, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
    3. Thomas, Deborah & Sarangi, Biraj Laxmi & Garg, Anu & Ahuja, Arti & Meherda, Pramod & Karthikeyan, Sujata R. & Joddar, Pinaki & Kar, Rajendra & Pattnaik, Jeetendra & Druvasula, Ramesh & Dembo Rath, Ali, 2015. "Closing the health and nutrition gap in Odisha, India: A case study of how transforming the health system is achieving greater equity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 154-162.
    4. J, Retnakumar & C.S., Krishnakumar, 2020. "Infant and under-five mortality among Dalits in India: Evidences from 2011 Census," MPRA Paper 103049, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Jayanta Kumar Bora & Rajesh Raushan & Wolfgang Lutz, 2019. "The persistent influence of caste on under-five mortality: Factors that explain the caste-based gap in high focus Indian states," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-20, August.
    6. Maitreyi Bordia Das & Soumya Kapoor Mehta, 2012. "Poverty and Social Exclusion in India," World Bank Publications - Reports 26335, The World Bank Group.
    7. Kaushal, Kaushalendra Kumar & F Ram, Faujdar Ram & Abhishek, Abhishek Singh, 2013. "Public Spending on Health and Childhood Mortality in India," MPRA Paper 48680, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Caroline Katharina Stiller & Silvia Konstanze Ellen Golembiewski & Monika Golembiewski & Srikanta Mondal & Hans-Konrad Biesalski & Veronika Scherbaum, 2020. "Prevalence of Undernutrition and Anemia among Santal Adivasi Children, Birbhum District, West Bengal, India," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-32, January.
    9. World Bank, 2011. "Perspectives on Poverty in India : Stylized Facts from Survey Data," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2299.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Population Policies; Health Monitoring&Evaluation; Early Child and Children's Health; Adolescent Health; Early Childhood Development;
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