South Asia despite decreasing rates of infectious disease, accounts for a significant proportion of their global burden. The sub-continent is also in the midst of rapid economic growth; large scale changes in land use, access to water and sanitation, and agricultural production; environmental degradation; and technological transformation, all against a background of uneven health system capacity. South Asia, defined by the World Bank as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, is home to a quarter of the world’s population.

This study found significant global decreases in all-cause child and adolescent mortality from 1990 to 2015, but with increasing global inequality. In countries with a low Socio-demographic Index (SDI), mortality is the primary driver of health loss in children and adolescents, largely owing to infectious, nutritional, maternal, and neonatal causes, while nonfatal health loss prevails in locations with a higher SDI.

Original Source