EC Paediatrics

Background: In low and middle-income countries (LMICs), a substantial proportion of childhood deaths are attributed to easily preventable and treatable illnesses such as Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI), diarrhoea, and malaria. Despite the implementation of several initiatives, the prevalence of ARI among under-five (U5) children in India has increased from 2016 to 2021. The present study aims to examine the prevalence and spatio-temporal changes of ARI among U5 children in India.

Data Source and Methodology: The current research has utilized the last two rounds of National Family Health Survey data. STATA 14 software has been used to analyse the data. The spatial analysis software (ArcGIS-10.8) has been used to show the prevalence and spatio-temporal changes across districts in India.

Results: The prevalence of childhood ARI has increased from 2.7% to 2.8% percent from 2016 to 2021 in India. The northeastern (0.9%) region shows the highest increase in the prevalence of ARI, while the central (-0.6%) region shows a decrease in prevalence. States like Delhi, Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh Puducherry, and Panjab exhibited high ARI prevalence in both years. Around 16 states/UTs and 333, districts show an increase in the prevalence of ARI during the same period. The highest increase in ARI prevalence was observed in Delhi, followed by Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh.

Conclusion: In conclusion, while progress has been made in reducing ARI prevalence in India, achieving Sustainable Development Goals 3.2 by 2030 will require a concentrated and sustained effort, particularly in regions with high or increasing ARI prevalence.

 Keywords: Acute Respiratory Infection; Spatio-Temporal; Sustainable Development Goals; ArcGIS; Spatial Analysis

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