Under-five Mortality Rate in Odisha: An Assessment of Trends and District Level Variations

Abstract

The under-five mortality rate (U5MR) is one of the key indicators of development. The Millennium development goals envisaged a reduction of U5MR by half of the 1990 level between 1990 to 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed in 2015 aims to reduce U5MR to at least as low as 25 deaths per 1,000 live births. However, a high level of diversity has been observed in the rate of decline in U5MR between and within regions. The broad objective of this paper is to assess the changing pattern of U5MR in Odisha in time and space. The analysis is based on primarily three sources of data: the Sample Registration System (SRS), the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) and the Census of India. The examination of data reveals a declining trend of U5MR in Odisha, yet the current level is substantially high. Geographic (spatial) variation in U5MR is notable. Further, the study observes sharp variations in U5MR by socioeconomic characteristics. The findings of this paper suggest for addressing the social determinants of health and mortality in disadvantaged spaces and population groups for a faster rate of decline in the U5MR and narrowing the differences across space and socioeconomic groups in Odisha.

Keywords

• under-five mortality rate
• sdgs
• national family health survey
• sample registration system
• spatial patterns
• socioeconomic groups