Does economic inequality matter in cases of infectious childhood diseases? An analysis for India

Although remarkable declines in infant and child mortality have been observed in developing countries during the last quarter of the twentieth century, the incidence and the prevalence of infectious diseases among children under five years of age still persist at an alarmingly high level, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asian countries in the ESCAP region. Over two thirds of the estimated 3.7 million deaths of children in South Asia in the year 2000 were attributable to infections such as pneumonia (acute respiratory infections), diarrhoea and measles (UNICEF, 2004; Black, Morris and Bryce, 2003). In India, diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, tuberculosis and chronic hepatitis continue to threaten the lives of millions of children.