An analysis of NFHS-4 data has shown that education of women has a direct impact on children’s health.
What is Under-five mortality?
Under-five mortality is the number of children under the age of five dying per 1,000 live births.
It is considered a good indicator of child health as it is a result of a variety of inputs such as mother’s nutritional status and health, level of immunisation, income and food availability, sanitation, availability of maternal and child health services, and the overall safety of a child’s environment.
What does the data show?
The data showed that the states with more educated women show better health outcomes for children.
The states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Assam to have the highest under-five mortality rates.
The percentage of women with more than 10 years of schooling in these states is lower than the national average of 35.7%.
Kerala, Goa, Manipur, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have the lowest under-five mortality rate in the country.
The percentage of women with more than 10 years of schooling in these states is much higher than the national average.
UNESCO report also support the claim that women’s education leads to better health outcomes for their children.
According to the report, child born to a mother who can read is 50% more likely to survive past five years of age.
It also says that the each year of mother’s schooling decreases the probability of infant mortality by 5-10%.
What are the other features of these states?
The states with the lowest under-five mortality rates also fared better on women’s empowerment indicators like more women owning bank accounts that they themselves use, fewer women getting married before 18 years of age etc.
These states also have a higher-than-average percentage of women who get full antenatal care and who take iron and folic acid (IFA) supplements for 100 days or more during their pregnancy.
Further, these states have a lower percentage of underweight children than the national average.
On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh has the highest under-five mortality rate (78 deaths per 1,000 live births) and only 32.9% of its women complete 10 years or more of schooling.
Subsequently, only 5.9% of its women get complete antenatal care and 12.9% consume IFA tablets for 100 days or more during pregnancy.
