| dc.description.abstract | The objective of this study was to explain the persistently high fertility in North Eastern region
of Kenya. Total fertility rate (TFR) in this region has been on the rise as fertility falls in the rest
of the country. For example, TFR was 5.9 and 6.4 births per woman during the Kenya
Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) of 2008/09 and 2013/14 respectively against the
national TFR of 4.6 and 3.4 during the KDHS of 2008/09 and 2013/14 respectively. The
government target of 2.6 children per woman by 2030 cannot be realized if fertility continues to
increase in this region. This study thus was carried out inorder to establish the effects of some of
the selected social-economic, social-cultural, demographic and proximate determinants of
fertility in the region.
The study utilized secondary data from the KDHS 2008/09 with a study population of 606
women of reproductive age (15-49) in the North Eastern region. Poisson regression model was
the main method of analysis. The dependent variable was CEB while the independent variables
that were considered for analysis were classified into social-economic, social-cultural and
proximate factors. Social-economic factors included wealth index, level of education and type of
residence. Religion and marital status were the only social cultural and demographic factors
respectively that were included. Proximate factors included marital status, ever use of
contraceptives, infant mortality and desired fertility.
Descriptive statistics indicate that majority of the women live in the rural areas, had no formal
education, were poor and only 3 percent have ever used a form of modern contraception. The
results from multi-variate analysis demonstrate that fertility is significantly associated with
education, marital status, child mortality and desire for more children.
From the findings, education seems to be the most significant factor that is causing high fertility
in North Eastern Kenya. It is therefore recommended that programmes and policies to improve
school enrolment and keeping girls in school be implemented more robustly. Some of these
could be having more schools considering the vastness of the region or establishing boarding
schools considering the nomadic lifestyles of the population there. | en_US |
