CHANGEMAKER
JAN-DEC 2023
VOL-10, ISSUE-01
Decomposing the Hill–Valley Gap in Child Nutritional Status in Manipur : Evidence from National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5)
Lhangum Hengoulal Khongsai
Abstract
Childhood undernutrition in India exhibits marked spatial variation, yet the determinants of these disparities remain insufficiently understood. This study examines the hill–valley gap in child nutritional status in Manipur using data from the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–21) for 2,987 children aged 0–59 months. Nutritional outcomes were assessed using height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) and stunting, and Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition was applied to quantify the contributions of compositional versus structural factors. While mean HAZ differed only marginally between hill (−1.03) and valley (−0.92) districts, stunting prevalence was significantly higher in hill districts (27.5% vs. 21.4%). Decomposition results showed that the entire hill–valley gap in both HAZ and stunting was driven by the unexplained component, indicating structural or contextual disadvantages rather than differences in household characteristics. Findings underscore the need for geographically targeted, supply-side interventions to address persistent nutritional inequities in Manipur’s hill districts.
Keywords: Stunting, Manipur, Undernutrition, Childhood, Decomposition
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