Malnourished and surviving in South Asia, better nourished and dying young in Africa: What can explain this puzzle?

This paper examines the factors explaining the very different
relationship between anthropometric shortfall and child mortality
in South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa. While in the former, very
high rates of anthropometric shortfall coexist with comparatively
lower child mortality rates, rates of anthropometric shortfall in
Sub Saharan Africa are much lower, yet under five mortality is much
higher than in South Asia. This puzzle is examined using a panel
data set of undernutrition, mortality, and their correlates. The
analysis suggests that the unusually high rates of anthropometric
shortfall in South Asia are partially due to the use of a US¡based
reference standard which appears to generate misleading
international comparisons of undernutrition. The very high rates of
under five mortality in Africa seem to be mostly due to very high
fertility, high and rising HIV prevalence, and a possible
multiplicative interaction of risk factors.