Mind the Gap: Temporal trends in Inequalities in infant and child mortality in India (1992–2016)

Abstract

Reduction in Infant and under 5 deaths has been a priority across the developing world but has met with varying success both between and within countries (Countdown, 2008). In spite of its economic progress and home to more than 18 percent of the world’s children (UN,2017), India has made slow progress with respect to child mortality as compared to other countries in the region (WHO,2016). India finds herself 48th out of 89 on infant mortality rate (UN, 2017) and has slipped down to 131 among the 188 countries ranked in terms of human development (HDI, 2016; UNDP, 2016). It is therefore not surprising that India failed to achieve its MDG 5 target which has huge implications as almost 20% of world's infant deaths are experienced in India (UNICEF,2017).