Determinants of Socioeconomic Inequality in Under-five Mortality in Kenya

Abstract

Child mortality rate in Kenya has been declining overs the years. This is attributed to enactment of various initiatives by healthcare stakeholders. However, this decline in mortality has not been sufficient enough to enable the attainment of Millennium Development Goal 4. Previous studies in Kenya on child survival found that children from underprivileged households and places with poor access to sanitation facilities have a higher likelihood of dying before the age of five in comparison to children from rich households. Most of these deaths are from socioeconomic related factors which are avoidable through policy interventions and are therefore unnecessary. This study utilized the 2003, 2008/09 and 2014 KDHS datasets to analyze the magnitude and determinants of inequality in under five mortalities in Kenya. The Concentration Index (CI) was constructed to measure socioeconomic inequality in under-five mortality and was decomposed to identify the key factors underpinning the observed inequality in U-5 deaths. From the results, Concentration Index was -0.015, implying that under five mortality is moderately concentrated amongst the poor households. Sanitation facilities, age of the mother, birth interval, birth order and the size of child at birth were found to be key contributing factors influencing inequality in under-five mortality. Interventions such as promoting sanitation facilities and reducing risky birth interval among the poor and supporting health literacy programmes would contribute towards reducing the existing socioeconomic inequality in under-five mortality