Health Vulnerabilities among Children in the Age Group of 0-5: An Analysis of the Data from the NSS 71st Round.

Abstract

This paper discusses health vulnerabilities of children in general followed by an analysis of data regarding health scenario of children below five years of age from the NSS 71st Round. Data reveals that persons of higher socio-economic status report higher (a) morbidity, (b) hospitalization rate as well as (c) duration of illness of their children. It raises the paradox of how children belonging to the relatively lower socio-economic status experience higher mortality despite lower morbidity reported as compared to children belonging to the higher socio-economic status. The paradox nonetheless gets revolved through analysing disease patterns of the children. Poor people under-report about their children’s illness despite greater suffering from life threatening diseases like diarrhoea as compared to children from higher economic strata.