Correction: Prevalence of unintended pregnancy and its associated factors: Evidence from six south Asian countries

Aim Unintended pregnancy is a significant public health concern in South Asian countries because of its negative association with the socioeconomic and health outcomes for both children and mothers. The present study aimed to explore the prevalence of unintended pregnancy and explore its determinants among women of reproductive age in six South Asian countries. Methods Nationwide latest demography and health survey data from six South Asian countries, including Bangladesh (2014), Pakistan (2017–2018), Nepal (2016), Afghanistan (2015), Maldives (2016–2017) and India (2015–2016) were pooled for the present study. Multivariate analysis was performed to explore the association between unintended pregnancy and its associated factors. Results Amongst the total women (n = 41,689), overall, 19.1% pregnancies were reported as unintended (ranging from 11.9% in India to 28.4% in Bangladesh). The logistic regression model showed that younger women (15–19 years) had 1.42 times higher chance of unintended pregnancies. The odds of unintended pregnancies was 1.24 times higher for poorest women and 1.19 times higher for poorer women. Further, urban women (aOR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.50–0.80), women having no children (aOR = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.09–0.12), smaller (≤4) family (aOR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.67–0.78), those who intent to use contraceptive (aOR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.60–0.86), currently living with partner (aOR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.81–0.99), first cohabitation in teenage (≤19 years) (aOR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.78–0.92) were less likely to report unintended pregnancies. Conclusions This study has showed that women’s age, wealth index, place of residence, number of children, family size, the intention of contraceptive use, living with a partner, and first cohabitation age are essential determinants of unintended pregnancy. These factors should be considered when trying to reduce unintended pregnancy in six South Asian countries. However, there is a need to improve health education, counselling, skills-building, sex education, modern contraceptive use and its access in this region. Intervention programs regarding reproductive health and policies are warranted to reduce rates of unintended pregnancy in South Asian countries.

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Wasting and Associated Factors among Children under 5 Years in Five South Asian Countries (2014–2018): Analysis of Demographic Health Surveys

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18094578 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (9) ◽

pp. 4578

Author(s):

Nidhi Wali ◽

Kingsley E. E. Agho ◽

Andre M. N. Renzaho

Keyword(s):

South Asia ◽

South Asian ◽

Health Surveys ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Common Factor ◽

Household Wealth ◽

Health Concern ◽

Demographic And Health Surveys ◽

Asian Countries ◽

Sampling Weights

Child wasting continues to be a major public health concern in South Asia, having a prevalence above the emergency threshold. This paper aimed to identify factors associated with wasting among children aged 0–23 months, 24–59 months, and 0–59 months in South Asia. A weighted sample of 564,518 children aged 0–59 months from the most recent demographic and health surveys (2014–2018) of five countries in South Asia was combined. Multiple logistic regression analyses that adjusted for clustering and sampling weights were used to examine associated factors. Wasting prevalence was higher for children aged 0–23 months (25%) as compared to 24–59 months (18%), with variations in prevalence across the South Asian countries. The most common factor associated with child wasting was maternal BMI [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for 0–23 months = 2.02; 95% CI: (1.52, 2.68); AOR for 24–59 months = 2.54; 95% CI: (1.83, 3.54); AOR for 0–59 months = 2.18; 95% CI: (1.72, 2.77)]. Other factors included maternal height and age, household wealth index, birth interval and order, children born at home, and access to antenatal visits. Study findings suggest need for nutrition specific and sensitive interventions focused on women, as well as adolescents and children under 2 years of age.

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Across-Country Comparisons of Selected Infant and Young Child Feeding Indicators and Associated Factors in Four South Asian Countries

Food and Nutrition Bulletin ◽

10.1177/156482651003100224 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 366-379 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Michael J. Dibley ◽

S. K. Roy ◽

Upul Senarath ◽

Archana Patel ◽

Kalpana Tiwari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Child ◽

South Asian ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Asian Countries ◽

Child Feeding ◽

Young Child Feeding ◽

Infant And Young Child

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Comparisons of complementary feeding indicators and associated factors in children aged 6-23 months across five South Asian countries

Maternal and Child Nutrition ◽

10.1111/j.1740-8709.2011.00370.x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. 89-106 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

Upul Senarath ◽

Kingsley E. Agho ◽

Dur-e-Samin Akram ◽

Sanjeeva S.P. Godakandage ◽

Tabish Hazir ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South Asian ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Complementary Feeding ◽

Asian Countries

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Wadhwa, Charan D. and MukulG. Asher (eds.). ASEAN-SOUTH ASIA Economic Relations. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. 1985. ix+384pp.

The Pakistan Development Review ◽

10.30541/v27i3pp.336-338 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 27 (3) ◽

pp. 336-338

Author(s):

Muhammad Hussain Malik

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

South Asian ◽

Southeast Asian ◽

Asian Countries ◽

Asian Studies ◽

Economic Relations ◽

Rigorous Research ◽

Southeast Asian Studies ◽

The Right ◽

Policy Proposals

The need to enhance their economic relations with each other has long been felt by developing countries. However, their efforts in this regard have met with limited success. One of the reasons for this could be that not much serious work has been done to understand the complexities and possibilities of economic relations of developing countries. The complementarities which exist among the economies of these countries remain relatively unexplored. There is a lack of concrete policy proposals which developing countries may follow to achieve their often proclaimed objective of collective self-reliance. All this needs serious and rigorous research efforts. In this perspective, the present study can be considered as a step in the right direction. It examines trade and other economic relations of developing countries of two regions of Asia-South Asian countries and member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The study also explores ways and means to improve economic relations among these countries

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Religion and Female-Male Ratios in India

10.31124/advance.7791437 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Swati Narayan

Keyword(s):

South Asian ◽

Asian Countries

The data is largely based on Census records from 1881 to 2011 of South Asian countries especially India, disaggregated by sex, age and religion.

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Dynamics of Travel Behaviour and Mode of Travelling during COVID-19 Outbreak. Evidence from South Asian Countries

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3725681 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

N.P. Ravindra Deyshappriya

Keyword(s):

South Asian ◽

Travel Behaviour ◽

Asian Countries

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Agroforestry to Achieve Global Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Targets: Are South Asian Countries Sufficiently Prepared?

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12030303 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 303

Author(s):

Shalini Dhyani ◽

Indu K Murthy ◽

Rakesh Kadaverugu ◽

Rajarshi Dasgupta ◽

Manoj Kumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South Asia ◽

South Asian ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Global Climate ◽

Well Being ◽

Agroforestry Systems ◽

Climate Mitigation ◽

Asian Countries ◽

Implementation Phase ◽

Adaptation And Mitigation

Traditional agroforestry systems across South Asia have historically supported millions of smallholding farmers. Since, 2007 agroforestry has received attention in global climate discussions for its carbon sink potential. Agroforestry plays a defining role in offsetting greenhouse gases, providing sustainable livelihoods, localizing Sustainable Development Goals and achieving biodiversity targets. The review explores evidence of agroforestry systems for human well-being along with its climate adaptation and mitigation potential for South Asia. In particular, we explore key enabling and constraining conditions for mainstreaming agroforestry systems to use them to fulfill global climate mitigation targets. Nationally determined contributions submitted by South Asian countries to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change acknowledge agroforestry systems. In 2016, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation’s Resolution on Agroforestry brought consensus on developing national agroforestry policies by all regional countries and became a strong enabling condition to ensure effectiveness of using agroforestry for climate targets. Lack of uniform methodologies for creation of databases to monitor tree and soil carbon stocks was found to be a key limitation for the purpose. Water scarcity, lack of interactive governance, rights of farmers and ownership issues along with insufficient financial support to rural farmers for agroforestry were other constraining conditions that should be appropriately addressed by the regional countries to develop their preparedness for achieving national climate ambitions. Our review indicates the need to shift from planning to the implementation phase following strong examples shared from India and Nepal, including carbon neutrality scenarios, incentives and sustainable local livelihood to enhance preparedness.

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Does Foreign Direct Investment Influence Renewable Energy Consumption? Empirical Evidence from South Asian Countries

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14123470 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (12) ◽

pp. 3470

Author(s):

Xueqing Kang ◽

Farman Ullah Khan ◽

Raza Ullah ◽

Muhammad Arif ◽

Shams Ur Rehman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Foreign Direct Investment ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

South Asian ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Direct Investment ◽

Least Square ◽

Asian Countries ◽

Ordinary Least Square ◽

The Relationship

In selected South Asian countries, the study intends to investigate the relationship between urban population (UP), carbon dioxide (CO2), trade openness (TO), gross domestic product (GDP), foreign direct investment (FDI), and renewable energy (RE). Fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) models for estimation were used in the study, which covered yearly data from 1990 to 2019. We used Levin–Lin–Chu, Im–Pesaran–Shin, and Fisher PP tests for the stationarity of the variables. The outcomes of the panel cointegration approach looked at whether there was a long-run equilibrium nexus between selected variables in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. The FMOLS approach was also used to assess the relationship, and the results suggest that there is a significant and negative nexus between FDI and renewable energy in south Asian nations. The study’s findings reveal a strong and favorable relationship between GDP and renewable energy use. In South Asian nations (Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh), the FMOLS and DOLS findings are nearly identical, but the authors used the DOLS model for robustification. According to the findings, policymakers in South Asian economies (Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh) should view GDP and FDI as fundamental policy instruments for environmental sustainability. To reduce reliance on hazardous energy sources, the government should also reassure financial sectors to participate in renewable energy.

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Suicide methods in South Asia over two decades (2001–2020)

International Journal of Social Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/00207640211015700 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 002076402110157

Author(s):

S M Yasir Arafat ◽

Syeda Ayat-e-Zainab Ali ◽

Vikas Menon ◽

Fahad Hussain ◽

Daniyal Shabbir Ansari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

South Asia ◽

South Asian ◽

English Language ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

Asian Countries ◽

Pubmed Central ◽

Suicide Methods ◽

Search Terms ◽

Quantitative Studies

Background: Suicide is a global preventable public health problem. About a quarter of all suicides in the world occur in South Asia. As means restriction is an important suicide prevention strategy, gaining knowledge of the common suicide methods and their changing trends in each country and region is crucial. Aims: We aimed to assess the suicide methods in South Asian countries over the last two decades. Methods: A search was performed in PubMed, PubMed Central, Scopus, and Google Scholar with the search terms. Original articles of quantitative studies, published in the English language, from 2001 to 2020, with full-accessible text, that rank different methods of suicide in eight South Asian countries, were included. Results: A total of 68 studies were found eligible for review. The Maximum number of studies were found from India ( n = 38), followed by Bangladesh ( n = 12), Pakistan ( n = 9), Sri Lanka ( n = 6), and Nepal ( n = 3). Hanging ( n = 40, 55.8%) and poisoning ( n = 24, 35.3%) were the two most common suicide methods reported, in that order. Hanging followed by poisoning were the commonest suicide methods in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan while in Sri Lanka, poisoning was the preferred method to hanging. There is a decline in suicide by poisoning and an increase in suicide by hanging in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India. Although hanging is still the commonest method in Pakistan, the use of firearms is growing in recent years (2011–2020). Conclusions: There is a steady decline in the incidence of suicides by poisoning following pesticide regulations in South Asian countries. However, there is heterogeneity of study methods, probable under-reporting of suicide, and lack of robust suicide data.

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