Resource information
The reduction of infant and child
death is one of the eight millennium development goals
(MDGs). In addition, one of the goal one indicators is child
malnutrition. A central question for the development
community is to understand the factors underlying child
health and nutritional status. What are the determinants of
these indicators, which of these determinants are amenable
to policy intervention, and which are the most effective
channels for influencing health and nutrition outcomes?
Potentially more insightful is analysis using data collected
from household surveys which can include such variables.
This paper summarizes the conclusions from these statistical
studies of the determinants of child health (infant and
child mortality) and nutritional status. The results from
the various studies are combined using meta-analysis, which
calculates the statistical significance of a variable
included in more than one study by combining the results of
those studies. In this context, the report is structured as
follows: part one gives introduction. Part two briefs review
of theory to introduce the relevant variables and their
classification. Part three discusses data and variable
definition and econometric issues, including the use of
meta-analysis. The results are presented in part four and
part five concludes. Annexes provide more details of the
studies reviewed in this paper.
