GENDER DISPARITY IN HEALTH STATUS IN INDIA- AN INTER STATE ANALYSIS
Neena Malhotra and Parula
Guru Nanak Dev University, India
Arya college, India
: Int J Ment Health Psychiatry
Abstract
Health is an important human right. Health deprivation has serious consequences for any section of society, more so for females. Government policies are focusing on improving health status of women and meeting their special requirements of reproductive and maternal health care. Despite concerted efforts in this direction, it is a fact that there is gender disparity in various indicators of health. Worst form of gender disparity is reflected in what is commonly called ‘Missing Women’. In general the gender disparity in health care is manifested in high IMR, high death rate of female children in 0-5 age group, adverse sex ratio especially child sex ratio, high Maternal Mortality Rate and high Adolescent Fertility Rate. This paper attempts to measure gender disparity in health status by developing composite indices for states and India as a whole at various points of time. Gender Health Disparity Index (GHDI) has been constructed at four points of time i.e. 1981 to 2011 census years respectively. GHDI is based on four indicators of health i.e. sex ratio, child sex ratio, infant mortality rate and under five mortality rates of males and females. The Gender Inequality Index(Health) has been developed by adapting the methodology of GII in UNDP Human Development Report, 2010 and 2011 report.In addition to four indicators used in GHDI, the GII(Health) includes two more indicators of women health, i.e. Maternal Mortality Rate and Adolescent Fertility Rate. Due to lack of interstate comparable data, Gender Inequality Index GII (Health) on health has been constructed only for the census years 2001 and 2011.
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