Maternal mortality, anaemia, and gender parity: The North-East Indian paradox

This paper investigates the paradoxical dynamics of gender and health in North-East India (NEI), situating regional outcomes within national and global contexts. While the region demonstrates relatively favourable gender parity indicators and comparatively balanced child sex ratios, contrasting sharply with the son-preference patterns observed in several northern Indian states, its Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) outcomes continue to reflect persistent structural and institutional deficits. Guided by the Social Determinants of Health (SDH) framework, the study examines the interrelationship between gender parity, women’s empowerment, nutrition, healthcare accessibility, and maternal and child health outcomes across selected North-Eastern and Indian states. Using secondary data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5, SRS Bulletins, Census of India, and the Women’s Empowerment Index (WEI) framework, the study adopts a descriptive and comparative approach supplemented by exploratory correlation analysis. The findings reveal a broader “developmental disconnect” in the region, where more balanced socio-cultural gender indicators coexist with poor maternal and child health outcomes. Assam recorded a Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 195 per 100,000 live births alongside anaemia prevalence of 66 percent among women and 68.4 percent among children. Comparative analysis with Kerala and Tamil Nadu further highlights that cultural parity alone cannot ensure better health outcomes in the absence of adequate healthcare infrastructure, nutritional security, and institutional support systems. The paper argues for integrated, gender-responsive public health systems that simultaneously address socio-cultural strengths, nutrition, healthcare accessibility, and structural inequalities to achieve sustainable RCH outcomes in the region.