Infant/child mortality and fertility rates In western province of kenya

Abstract

The main objectives of this thesis are three-fold. Firstly, to study infant and child mortality' rates in Western Province by region and by the differentials of education, marital status and residence. Secondly, to show that the expectation of life at birth in the province is influenced by the level of education, type of marital status and nature of residence, and finally to estimate the fertility rates In the province at divisional level by employing various techniques, viz : Coal e-Trussell, Gompertz and Coale-Demeny. The data used in the analysis was drawn from the 1979 national Census. The thesis has been broken down into five chapters. Chapter one is the general introduction In which the objectives: literature review as well as the theoretical framework have been outlined. The second chapter deals with the infant/child mortality rates using the Coale-Trussell model. also constructed for each variable under study. Life tables are. It is found that infant/child mortality rates neighbourhood is overalry higher Kakamega and Bungoma, and that in divisions of Busia and its than in the other divisions of the higher the infant/child mortality rate, the lower the expectation of life. The third chapter pays particular attention to the estimation of fertility rates using the Coale-Trussel model. The fertility rate by each variable is calculated. The fourth chapter is ideally an