WATERING THE NEIGHBOUR'S GARDEN: THE GROWING - CICRED

DECREASES IN MALE AND FEMALE MORTALITY AND MISSING WOMEN …
(Figure 3). Mortality for girls 1-4 years old was substantially higher than
for boys until about 1990 after which there were no or little differences.
Figure 3 Child (1-4 yrs) mortality rate in Matlab, 1966-2003
Rate per 1,000 population
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1966-1967
1968-1969
1970-1971
1972-1973
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
Year
3.3. Sex Differentials in Child Mortality
Male Female
Table 3 shows that sex differentials in child mortality are associated
with several factors. Neonatal mortality rates are higher for males
than for females in all birth cohorts in both areas, and the opposite is
true for the post-neonatal mortality rates (with one exception). A
further breakdown of male-to-female mortality ratios within the postneonatal
period, namely in the age group 29 days-5 months and 6-11
months, revealed ratios very close to one in the first half of the this
period and ratios less than one in the second half (data not shown
here). During the childhood period (between ages 12 and 60 months),
male-to-female mortality ratios increased (especially in the 1980s and
1990s) while mortality rates in general fell. The ratios increased earlier
(since 1980) in the MCH-FP area than in the comparison area (since
1990).
The results of the logistic regression models for each birth cohort
in each area reveal that sex differentials in child mortality persisted for
a longer period in the comparison area than in the MCH-FP area
(Table 4). The odds of death of boys compared to girls were 0.56 to
1.00 in the comparison area for the 1976-1979 birth cohort and 0.53 to
1.00 in the MCH-FP area for the same cohort.
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