Determinants of infant mortality in Rwanda

Abstract

In Rwanda, there has been a marked decrease of infant mortality from 107 to 86 deaths per 1000 live births in 2000 and 2005 respectively (NISR & ORC Macro 2006). However, despite this decrease, there is limited empirical research in the field of infant mortality. The available literature has mostly focused on the factors associated with the under-five mortality. Studies carried out in Rwanda indicate that majority of the under-five deaths occur in infancy (Habimana 2006) and yet, the factors that influence infant mortality are poorly understood. Hence, the purpose of this study was to establish the determinants of infant mortality in Rwanda. Despite the disintegration of socio-economic infrastructure due to the 1994 genocide, there is still need to find out how far the country has gone in rehabilitating its public health care systems fifteen years after the holocaust. Therefore, it is critical to investigate and examine factors influencing the high levels of infant mortality in the country. Specifically, the study aimed at establishing the effects of socio-economic, bio-demographic and environmental factors associated with infant mortality, based '.on the Mosley and Chen (1984) framework.

The study utilized the 2005 Third Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (RDHS- III) as a source of data and used variabies such as; province of residence, type of place of residence, level of maternal education, wealth index, age at first birth, number of children ever born, preceding birth interval, source of drinking water and type of toilet facility. Since the unit of analysis was children under one year of age who were born between

2000 and 2005, the focus was on children's data file. The study used a sample of 8649 children out of which 667 (7.7%) had died before celebrating their first birth day by the time of the survey.