Factors contributing to household wealth inequality in under-five deaths in low- and middle-income countries: decomposition analysis

The burden of under-5 deaths is disproportionately high among poor households relative to economically viable ones in developing countries. Despite this, the factors driving this inequality has not been well explored. This study decomposed the contributions of the factors associated with wealth inequalities in under-5 deaths in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We analysed data of 856,987 children from 66,495 neighbourhoods across 59 LMICs spanning recent Demographic and Health Surveys (2010-2018). Under-5 mortality was described as deaths among live births within 0 to 59 months of birth and it was treated as a dichotomous variable (dead or alive). The prevalence of under-five deaths was stratified using household wealth status. A Fairlie decomposition analysis was utilized to investigate the relative contribution of the factors associated with household wealth inequality in under-5 deaths at p