International Institute for Population Sciences
Deemed to be University (An Autonomous Organization of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India)

Abstract: Measuring trends in health inequalities provide a critical assessment tool for monitoring the health progress of differently placed individuals. This study examines inter-state health inequalities in India over the last three decades (1980-2021) using both absolute and relative measures of health inequalities. We use two indicators of health: Life Expectancy at Birth (LEB) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR). The former represents overall health status and the latter is considered a sensitive measure of state health status. We use population-weighted Average Inter-Individual Difference (AID) and Gini index representing measures of absolute and relative inequality, respectively. The findings showed significant progress in terms of reduction in IMR. Also, the increase in LEB suggests decent progress over the last three decades. For LEB, inequality estimates suggest a reduction in both absolute and relative inequalities. While in the case of IMR, absolute inequalities are declining, but relative inequalities are rising. However, the picture is different for rural and urban areas. In the case of LEB, absolute and relative inequalities declined in Urban areas, while in rural areas, both increased for the recent period, 2011 to 2021. For IMR, absolute inequalities are declining in rural and urban areas, while relative inequalities are rising. Overall, the findings suggest a setback in progress toward reduction in health inequalities, especially the relative inequalities, are the cause of concern.