Analyzing Infant Mortality Inequality: Identifying Risk Factors and Addressing Disparities

Khadija Mujahid ()
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Khadija Mujahid: School of Economics and Social Sciences, IBA Karachi

Social Inequality Lab Working Paper Series from School of Economics and Social Sciences, IBA Karachi

Abstract: The infant mortality rate (IMR) varies by area, with Pakistan and other developing nations seeing high prevalence. At 86 deaths per 1000 babies born, infant mortality in Pakistan was notably high until the beginning of the 1990s. According to the World Bank data, it decreased by 24 points in the past three decades to 62 fatalities per 1000 in 2015 though Pakistan's IMR discrepancy has not yet been adequately addressed. Pakistan continues to be among the nations with the highest infant mortality rates; thus, we looked at the IMR inequality and identified the potential risk factors using the most suitable methodologies, such as principal component analysis (PCA) for wealth index, to draw conclusions based on evidence. The analysis for this study included a total weighted sample of 12,708 mothers of childbearing age who reported experiencing infant mortality in the previous five years as part of the Pakistan Demographic Health Survey (PDHS). The count models, Poisson and Negative Binomial, assessed the risk indicators associated with infant mortality in Pakistan. A closer look at the number of infant deaths showed over-dispersion because the variance (0.389) is higher than the mean (0.250). AIC (14961.63), and BIC (15170.23) values of the multilevel negative binomial regression model are the lowest making it the best model for assessing infant mortality in Pakistan. Baluchistan had the highest number of infant deaths per mother against the babies born in the last five years (167, 6.19%). In FATA, 22 infants died out of 1883 babies born making the lowest proportion of infant deaths (1.17%). IMR was more prevalent in female babies from the most impoverished subpopulations, such asthe uneducated, poorest, and rural residents. The poorest households, rural people, women without a formal education, and female infants must all be the focus of efforts to eradicate the observed inequities.

Pages: 26 pages
Date: 2023
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev
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