Setting the stage for equity-sensitive monitoring of the maternal and child health Millennium Development Goals.
OBJECTIVE
This analysis seeks to set the stage for equity-sensitive monitoring of the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).


METHODS
We use data from international household-level surveys (Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS)) to demonstrate that establishing an equity baseline is necessary and feasible, even in low-income and data-poor countries. We assess data from six countries using 11 health indicators and six social stratifiers. Simple bivariate stratification is complemented by simultaneous stratification to expose the compound effect of multiple forms of vulnerability.


RESULTS
The data reveal that inequities are complex and interactive: inferences cannot be drawn about the nature or extent of inequities in health outcomes from a single stratifier or indicator.


CONCLUSIONS
The MDGs and other development initiatives must become more comprehensive and explicit in their analysis and tracking of inequities. The design of policies to narrow health gaps must take into account country-specific inequities.
Wirth
Meg E
ME
Task Force 4, Child Health and Maternal Health, UN Millennium Project, and Center for International Earth Science Information Network, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA.
Balk
Deborah
D
Delamonica
Enrique
E
Storeygard
Adam
A
Sacks
Emma
E
Minujin
Alberto
A
D003625:Data Collection; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008430:Maternal-Child Health Centers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D014480:United Nations