Abstract
BackgroundPakistan is facing a serious problem of child under-nutrition as about 38% of children in Pakistan are stunted. Punjab, the largest province by population and contributes high gross domestic product (GDP) share in economy has reported 27% moderately and 10% severely stunted children of less than 5 years. Thus, this study aims at examining the determinants of stunting (moderate and severe) at different level of hierarchy empirically in Punjab province of Pakistan.MethodologyData for this study is coming from Punjab Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS-2014), used two-stage, stratified cluster sampling approach. Sub-national level data covering urban and rural areas were used for this study consists of 25,067 children less than 5 year’s ages, from nine administrative divisions and 36 districts of Punjab province of Pakistan. Descriptive statistics and multilevel hierarchical models were estimated. Multilevel data analyses have an advantage because it provides robust standard error estimates and helps in finding variation in the data at various levels.ResultsPunjab has a stunting prevalence of about 27% moderately and 10% severely stunted children of less than 5 years. The results depict that increasing the age of the child, increasing birth order, illiterate mothers and fathers, lack of sanitation facilities and being poor are associated significantly with the likelihood of moderate and severe stunting. Surprisingly, there is a gender bias in stunting in Punjab, Pakistan and being a girl child is more likely associated with moderate and severe stunting, which shows the patriarchal nature of the society and a substantial prevalence of gender bias in household resource allocations.ConclusionThis outcome of our analysis points towards targeting not only households (focus on girls) but also their families and communities.
Highlights
Pakistan is facing a serious problem of child under-nutrition as about 38% of children in Pakistan are stunted
There is a gender bias in stunting in Punjab, Pakistan and being a girl child is more likely associated with moderate and severe stunting, which shows the patriarchal nature of the society and a substantial prevalence of gender bias in household resource allocations
31.5% of children are moderately stunted between the age group of 36 months to 59 months, whereas about 11.5% are severely stunted in the same age group
Summary
Pakistan is facing a serious problem of child under-nutrition as about 38% of children in Pakistan are stunted. The largest province by population and contributes high gross domestic product (GDP) share in economy has reported 27% moderately and 10% severely stunted children of less than 5 years. One out of five children under 5 year’s age is reported stunted and contributes half of the child mortality in the world [1]. A stunted child is physically short of their age and fails to grow cognitively. This condition of undernourishment of a child undermines their potential of life from its very manifestation and affects over the life cycle [2]. Under-nutrition leads to child morbidity and mortality, poor physical and cognitive development, poor school performance, reduced capacity to work even later in life, loss of productivity and wages [3,4,5]. Under-nutrition is one of the most pressing challenges of the contemporary era due to its long-lasting and detrimental consequences [6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
