A Shot of Justice : Priority-Setting for Addressing Child Mortality

The book is a timely contribution in the context of the sustainable development goals pursued globally and the need for India to re-examine its infant and child mortality reduction policy. The book builds the argument with a strong theoretical framework and political philosophy such as John Rawls'' "A Theory of Justice" and "social primary goods" and Amartya Sen''s "capability" metric. In addition, this book uses multidisciplinary approach to tackle the issue of demographic and social problems such as high infant mortality persistent over a long period of time. Although the book''s focus is on India as a case study, the arguments and policy implications can be replicated in any other context or scenario with high infant and child mortality rates.

Child mortality has been widely perceived and addressed as a medical issue. Regardless of the fact that there has been a substantial decrease in child mortality world-wide it continues to be a concern in developing countries. Millions of children die each year due to preventable causes. This book argues that there is a clear and consistent pattern of preventable child deaths, which is, at its core, a problem of justice. Modern theories of justice can offer important lessons for the design and assessment of child survival policies from an equity perspective. The book considers Amartya Sen''s multifocal metric of justice as more plausible than its Rawlsian or resourcist counterparts. It argues that such an approach to justice is relevant for affirmative action policies, which have long been a source of resentment among historically better-off groups around the world, especially in two of the world''s largest and most vibrant democracies-India and the United States.