Center for International Earth Science Network and UNICEF

The original purpose of this analysis was to show how to monitor the maternal and child health MDGs1 in an equity-sensitive manner. Using data from broad-scale, international household- level surveys—the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS)—that analysis (which examined six countries using 20 health indicators and six social strata to ground recommendations in current data2) demonstrated that in order to understand and promote equity, it is necessary and feasible to establish a baseline using a variety of indicators and stratifiers, even in very low-income, data-poor countries.
This Practical Guide builds on the previous work and addresses a wider audience, providing specific technical advice on how to undertake a simple equity analysis using population-based surveys.
[doc]monitoring-health-equity-in-the-mdgs-a-practical-.pdf[/doc]