Multidimensional poverty and the state of child health in India

Using data from the National Family and Health Survey 3, India, this paper measures and validates the extent of multidimensional poverty and examines the linkages of poverty level with child health in India. Multidimensional poverty is measured in the domain of education, health and living standard and child health is measured with respect to infant mortality rate, the underfive mortality rate, immunization of children and medical assistance at birth. Results indicate that one-fifth of the households in India are abject poor; half of them are poor and the poor have limited access to child care. While infant mortality rate and under-five mortality rate are disproportionately higher among the abject poor compared to the non-poor, there are no significant differences in child survival among the educational, economical and health poor at the national level. Regional patterns in child survival among education, economical and health poor are mixed.