Trends and Determinants of Neonatal, Infant and Under-Five Mortality in India

Background & Objectives: Under-five mortality is a sensitive indicator of a country’s development and telling evidence of child health facilities. With almost 19,000 children under-five years of age dying every day across the world, India tops the list of countries with the highest number of 16.55 lakh such deaths in 2011. Over 70 percent of under-five deaths occur within the first year of life and contribution of neonatal deaths to infant deaths is around 60 percent. This study addresses trends and determinants of neonatal, infant and under-five mortality and comparing the magnitude of inequalities in major states in India Data & Methods: Using quantitative secondary data collected from various databases like; India Human Development Report, 2011 and Census of India 2011. As statistical methods we have used correlation, regression and multiple regression models. Results & Discussion: Results of Double log linear regression model showed that women empowering factors were associated with a higher risk of neonatal mortality, while urban factors have highest significant negative association with infant and underfive mortality. Conclusion & Suggestion: India has to take some prompt action to reduce under-five mortality with more emphasis on neonatal mortality. Mother’s education and occupation have momentous influence on reducing levels of mortality; therefore strengthening women empowerment is an utmost need to reduce child mortality in India.