Socioeconomic inequality in neonatal mortality in countries of low and middle income

In 2011, an estimated 3 million children died in the first 4 weeks of life. More than 98% of these neonatal deaths occurred in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), and more than three-quarters in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. Most neonatal deaths can be avoided with effective low-cost interventions, such as clean delivery practices, exclusive breastfeeding, and access to emergency obstetric and neonatal care.

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Because coverage of essential neonatal survival interventions such as antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, and emergency obstetric care have increased in the past two decades in most LMICs, whether these interventions are exacerbating the socioeconomic gap in neonatal mortality needs to be established. Increasing inequalities might suggest a need for programmes and policies specifically aimed at socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. The aim of the study was to produce comparable estimates of changes in wealth-related and educational inequalities in NMR in the past two decades across LMICs.