Clinical Pediatrics: Open Access
Open Access

Abstract

Did the Global COVID-19 Pandemic Change the Importance of Key Determinants for Children's Nutrition?

Payal Seth*

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted children’s under nutrition, especially in low and middle-income countries, through various pathways such as interruption in agricultural supply chains, a decline in incomes, and reduced access to social protection programs. These disruptions are hypothesized to change the relative importance of determinants of children’s under nutrition and are critical to re-prioritize investment in child nutrition, post-pandemic. However, the current research is still unclear about which sectors have gained or lost importance due to the pandemic. Our study attempts to bridge this research gap by providing empirical estimates for how the relative importance of key determinants of child under nutrition has changed post-pandemic. To do this, we use the Shapley-Owen decomposition econometric technique on a national-level representative data set from India. Our findings suggest children’s birth characteristics (and in this group, their birth weight) became more important during the pandemic. Further analysis suggests that children who had low birth weight were disproportionately impacted due to the pandemic. The findings of this study can inform evidence-based policy-making and guide investments toward mitigating the impact of future pandemics on children's under nutrition.

Published Date: 2025-01-14; Received Date: 2023-10-23