title: Equity in maternal, newborn, and child health care coverage in India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Addressing inequitable coverage of maternal and child health care services among different socioeconomic strata of population and across states is an important part of India's contemporary health program. This has wide implications for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal targets.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This paper assesses the inequity in coverage of maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) care services across household wealth quintiles in India and its states.
  
  
  METHODS
  Utilizing the District Level Household and Facility Survey conducted during 2007-08, this paper has constructed a Composite Coverage Index (CCI) in MNCH care.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean overall coverage of 45% was estimated at the national level, ranging from 31% for the poorest to 60% for the wealthiest quintile. Moreover, a massive state-wise difference across wealth quintiles was observed in the mean overall CCI. Almost half of the Indian states and union territories recorded a ≤50% coverage in MNCH care services, which demands special attention.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  India needs focused efforts to address the inequity in coverage of health care services by recognising or defining underserved people and pursuing well-planned time-oriented health programs committed to ameliorate the present state of MNCH care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Studies, International Institute for Population Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai, India; prashant_iips@yahoo.co.in.
authors.forename: Prashant Kumar
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Rajesh Kumar
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Rai
authors.forename: Chandan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: India; composite coverage index; household economic status; maternal; millennium development goals; newborn and child health; states