scholarly journals Maternal cumulative prevalence measures of child mortality show heavy burden in sub-Saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (8) ◽  
pp. 4027-4033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Smith-Greenaway ◽  
Jenny Trinitapoli
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Infant Mortality ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Infant Mortality Rate ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Offspring Mortality ◽  
Cumulative Prevalence

We advance a set of population-level indicators that quantify the prevalence of mothers who have ever experienced an infant, under 5-y-old child, or any-age child die. The maternal cumulative prevalence of infant mortality (mIM), the maternal cumulative prevalence of under 5 mortality (mU5M), and the maternal cumulative prevalence of offspring mortality (mOM) bring theoretical and practical value to a variety of disciplines. Here we introduce maternal cumulative prevalence measures of mortality for multiple age groups of mothers in 20 sub-Saharan African countries with Demographic and Health Surveys data spanning more than two decades. The exercise demonstrates the persistently high prevalence of African mothers who have ever experienced a child die. In some African countries, more than one-half of 45- to 49-y-old mothers have experienced the death of a child under age 5, and nearly two-thirds have experienced the death of any child, irrespective of age. Fewer young mothers have experienced a child die, yet in many countries, up to one-third have. Our results show that the mIM and mU5M can follow distinct trajectories from the infant mortality rate (IMR) and under 5 mortality rate (U5MR), offering an experiential view of mortality decline that annualized measures conceal. These measures can be adapted to quantify the prevalence of recurrent offspring mortality (mROM) and calculated for subgroups to identify within-country inequality in the mortality burden. These indicators can be used to improve current understandings of mortality change, bereavement as a public health threat, and population dynamics.

scholarly journals The effect of the quality of institutions on the relationship between public health expenditure and the infant mortality rate: evidence from the PVAR (X) and PSTR approaches

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-35
Author(s):  
Arthur Evariste KOUASSI ◽  
Ya Assanhoun Guillaume KOUASSI ◽  
Nogbou Andetchi Aubin AMANZOU
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Infant Mortality ◽  
Health Expenditure ◽  
Infant Mortality Rate ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Institutional Variables ◽  
Public Health Expenditure ◽  
Sub Saharan

Infant mortality is a major health problem in developing countries. It is an important indicator of a country's public health as it goes hand in hand with socio-economic conditions and many others. Public health spending has been committed to reducing this scourge. This has led to the completion of numerous studies which have yielded mixed results. The main objective of this study is to test the effect of public health expenditure (% GDP) on the infant mortality rate, taking into account the role that institutional quality can play. To achieve this, we use two approaches which are the autoregressive vector panel model with exogenous variables (PVAR (X)) and the smooth threshold regression model (PSTR) on annual data covering the period 2002-2016 and covering 37 African countries. Sub-Saharan. Our main results through the PVAR (X) reveal that in the absence of institutional variables, public health expenditure has a negative and significant effect on the infant mortality rate, whereas, in the presence of the various institutional variables, this effect is still negative but is no longer significant. Our results show that the presence of institutions halves the weight of public health expenditure in explaining the infant mortality rate. In addition, our results show through the PSTR that there is a certain level of institutional qualities that these countries must achieve for public health expenditure to positively affect infant mortality rates. These thresholds oscillate for all the institutional variables around 7%. Taking institutional variables into account will help reduce infant mortality in Sub-Saharan African countries.

scholarly journals Transportation: Barrier to Maternal and Child Healthcare Service in Rural sub-Saharan Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Kwasi Nartey
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Infant Mortality ◽  
Health Facility ◽  
Primary Healthcare ◽  
Health Planning ◽  
Maternal Mortality Ratio ◽  
Infant Mortality Rate ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Compound System ◽  
Sub Saharan

Maternal and infant mortality has reduced over the years in sub-Saharan African but it is still the highest globally. Maternal Mortality Ratio in this region was approximately 66% (201,000) with 45% decrease in Infant Mortality rate between the periods of 1990 and 2015. Women on this part of the world face 15 times the dangers of childbirth and pregnancy situations as compared to those in the developed countries, children on the other hand are more than 14 times more likely to die before attaining age 5 than children in the developed world. This is partly because of challenges of patient referral. Referral is when a health professional at a lower health facility requests that a patient should seek for healthcare services at a higher health facility. The key among other challenges in referring a patient to a higher health facility from rural communities in sub-Saharan is the means of transport. This significantly and negatively affected the achievement of Maternal and Child health outcome in spite of the good works ongoing in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, for countries in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve the targets of the goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) which is to Ensure Healthy Lives and Wellbeing for all at all ages, the issue of geographic and physical barriers to healthcare facilities should be well looked into. Government and non-governmental organizations should help in the building of health facilities in rural and deprived communities, provide ambulance services, provide adequate health officers and drugs. All these coupled with good road network would help people in these communities. Also, primary healthcare should be placed within the cultural settings of these people, so that they can embrace and easily access it to save mothers and children from preventable deaths. Finally, other sub-Saharan African countries should adopt the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compound system of primary healthcare provision introduced in Ghana to help reduce the maternal and infant mortality rate drastically by 2030.

scholarly journals Socioeconomic Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa with Reference to Southeast Asia: Natural Resources or Institutions?

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Katoka Ben ◽  
Kwon Huck-ju
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Infant Mortality ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Institutional Quality ◽  
Infant Mortality Rate ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Gdp Growth ◽  
Per Capita Gdp ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sub Saharan

This paper explores the relationship between institutional quality, dependence on natural resources, and socioeconomic performance in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Southeast Asia (SEA) in the period from 1995 to 2015. It uses three measures―per capita GDP growth; foreign direct investment inflows (FDI); and infant mortality rate―to capture socioeconomic performance. The World Bank’s Regulatory Quality (RQ) indicator and the share of natural resource exports in percentage of total merchandise exports are used to capture institutional quality and resource dependence, respectively. Using Pooled OLS with robust estimators that control for temporal and spatial dependence, the paper finds that (1) higher levels of natural resource exports in SSA were significantly associated with larger FDI flows, but had no significant correlation with per capita GDP growth and infant mortality rate. Additionally, (2) in both SSA and SEA, a higher RQ score was significantly associated with increased per capita GDP growth and decreased infant mortality. The paper concludes by highlighting a few key areas that need serious consideration for further research on institutions and development in SSA.

Health expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa: Is it mean reversion? A Fourier unit root test approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-44
Author(s):  
Gbenga A. Olalude ◽  
Hammed A. Olayinka ◽  
Oluwadare O. Ojo
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcome ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Infant Mortality ◽  
Unit Root ◽  
Health Expenditure ◽  
Unit Root Test ◽  
Mean Reversion ◽  
Infant Mortality Rate ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan

The aim of the paper is to examine the mean reversion in health expenditure of 45 sub-Saharan African countries. The series on current health expenditure (percent of GDP in total), obtained from the World Development Indicators, each spanned the years 2000–2017. We employed the Fourier unit root test, which allows modelling structural breaks, to deal with any such breaks that could arise as a result of a small sample size (18 years) of data available on health expenditure of the selected countries. The results showed evidence of mean reversion in the health spending pattern of 27 sub-Saharan African countries. There is evidence of nonmean reversion in the health expenditure pattern of the remaining 18 countries considered. We further investigate the link between health expenditure and health outcome, using infant mortality rate and under-five mortality rate as health outcome variables. An inverse association could be observed between the infant mortality rate and health expenditure and between the under-five mortality rate and health expenditure in 24 sub-Saharan African countries. On the other hand, in 13 other sub-Saharan African countries we observed a positive association between the variables. The findings of this study could be of great importance to healthcare delivery programmes in the studied countries.

scholarly journals Income Inequality and Population Health in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Test of Income Inequality-Health Hypothesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 235-254
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Abidemi Odusanya ◽  
◽  
Anthony Enisan Akinlo ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Infant Mortality Rate ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Life Expectancy At Birth ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Poor Population

Existing studies have shown that income inequality remains a core determinant of population health. These findings are in line with the Income Inequality-Health Hypothesis (IIHH). However, this assertion remains unclear for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), despite the rising trend of income disparity in the region and the vastness of the studies that tested the validity of the IIHH. This inferential study, therefore, examines the effect of income inequality on health for 31 Sub-Saharan African countries from 1995 to 2015 using life expectancy at birth, infant mortality rate, and under-five mortality rate as indicators of population health, as well as the Gini index as a measurement of income inequality. The study employed the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). We infer that income inequality contributes significantly to poor population health in Sub-Saharan Africa, thereby affirming the validity of the Income Inequality-Health Hypothesis for the region.

scholarly journals Can Aid Improve People Health in Sub-Saharan African Countries?

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
W. Jean Marie Kébré
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Infant Mortality ◽  
Prevalence Rate ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Hiv Prevalence ◽  
Infant Mortality Rate ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Crude Mortality ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Hiv Aids

<p><em>This paper analyzes the effects of aid on health of people in Sub-Saharan African Countries. Used as health indicators for infant mortality rate, crude mortality rate and HIV/AIDS prevalence rate, this analysis uses panel data for a sample of 43 countries over the period of 1990 to 2014. Through assessing the effect of aid on reducing mortality and HIV prevalence, the article examines a central issue with regard to the new global development agenda: Can we still promote health through increased aid? The results tend to show that aid significantly reduces crude mortality and infant mortality rates and HIV/AIDS prevalence rate. They do not validate the presence of decreasing marginal returns. However, the impact of aid on health indicators is not linear. This non-linearity suggests that aid is more effective in reducing mortality and HIV prevalence in relatively poorest countries and in those with relatively lower health expenditure. Thus, health promotion in sub-Saharan African countries through increased aid is possible.</em><em></em></p>

scholarly journals The toll of COVID-19 on African children: A descriptive analysis on the COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality among the pediatric population in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabina Rodriguez Velasquez ◽  
Lea Jacques ◽  
Jyoti Dalal ◽  
Paolo Sestito ◽  
Zahra Habibi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cumulative Incidence ◽  
Pediatric Population ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Morbidity And Mortality ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Regional Office ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Epidemiological Characteristics

Introduction: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, very little data on the epidemiological characteristics among the pediatric population in Africa has been published. This paper examines the age and sex distribution of the morbidity and mortality rate in children with COVID-19 and compares it to the adult population within 15 Sub-Saharan African countries. Methods: A merge line listing dataset using a reverse engineering model shared by countries within the Regional Office for Africa was analyzed. Patients diagnosed within 1 March 2020 and 1 September 2020 with confirmed positive RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 were analyzed. Children data were stratified into three age groups: 0-4 years, 5-11 years, and 12-17 years, while adults were combined. The cumulative incidence of cases including its medians and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results: 9% of the total confirmed cases and 2.4% of the reported deaths were pediatric cases. The 12-17 age group in all 15 countries showed the highest cumulative incidence proportion in children. COVID-19 cases in males and females under the age of 18 were evenly distributed. Among adults, a higher case incidence per 100,000 people was observed compared to children. Conclusion: The cases and deaths within the children population was smaller than the adult population. These differences can reflect biases in COVID-19 testing protocols and reporting implemented by countries, highlighting the need for more extensive investigation and focus on the effects of COVID-19 in children.

Does economic freedom improve health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa?

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 1633-1649
Author(s):  
Anand Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Economic Freedom ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of economic freedom on four key health indicators (namely, life expectancy, infant mortality rate, under-five mortality rate and neonatal mortality rate) by using a panel dataset of 34 sub-Saharan African countries from 2005 to 2016.Design/methodology/approachThe study obtains data from the World Development Indicators (WDI) of the World Bank and the Fraser Institute. It uses fixed effects regression to estimate the effect of economic freedom on health outcomes and attempts to resolve the endogeneity problems by using two-stage least squares regression (2SLS).FindingsThe results indicate a favourable impact of economic freedom on health outcomes. That is, higher levels of economic freedom reduce mortality rates and increase life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa. All areas of economic freedom, except government size, have a significant and positive effect on health outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThis study analyses the effect of economic freedom on health at a broad level. Country-specific studies at a disaggregated level may provide additional information about the impact of economic freedom on health outcomes. Also, this study does not control for some important variables such as education, income inequality and foreign aid due to data constraints.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that sub-Saharan African countries should focus on enhancing the quality of economic institutions to improve their health outcomes. This may include policy reforms that support a robust legal system, protect property rights, promote free trade and stabilise the macroeconomic environment. In addition, policies that raise urbanisation, increase immunisation and lower the incidence of HIV are likely to produce a substantial improvement in health outcomes.Originality/valueExtant economic freedom-health literature does not focus on endogeneity problems. This study uses instrumental variables regression to deal with endogeneity. Also, this is one of the first attempts to empirically investigate the relationship between economic freedom and health in the case of sub-Saharan Africa.

scholarly journals Correlates of the double burden of malnutrition among women: an analysis of cross sectional survey data from sub-Saharan Africa

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. e029545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dickson Abanimi Amugsi ◽  
Zacharie Tsala Dimbuene ◽  
Catherine Kyobutungi
Keyword(s):  
Household Wealth ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Outcome Variable ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Double Burden ◽  
Double Burden Of Malnutrition ◽  
Sub Saharan

ObjectiveTo investigate the correlates of the double burden of malnutrition (DBM) among women in five sub-Saharan African countries.DesignSecondary analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). The outcome variable was body mass index (BMI), a measure of DBM. The BMI was classified into underweight (BMI <18.50 kg/m2), normal weight (18.50–24.99 kg/m2), overweight (25.0–29.9 kg/m2) and obesity (≥30.0 kg/m2).SettingsGhana, Nigeria, Kenya, Mozambique and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).SubjectsWomen aged 15–49 years (n=64698).ResultsCompared with normal weight women, number of years of formal education was associated with the likelihood of being overweight and obese in Ghana, Mozambique and Nigeria, while associated with the likelihood of being underweight in Kenya and Nigeria. Older age was associated with the likelihood of being underweight, overweight and obese in all countries. Positive associations were also observed between living in better-off households and overweight and obesity, while a negative association was observed for underweight. Breastfeeding was associated with less likelihood of underweight in DRC and Nigeria, obesity in DRC and Ghana, overweight in Kenya and overweight and obesity in Mozambique and Nigeria relative to normal weight.ConclusionsOur analysis reveals that in all the countries, women who are breastfeeding are less likely to be underweight, overweight and obese. Education, age and household wealth index tend to associate with a higher likelihood of DBM among women. Interventions to address DBM should take into account the variations in the effects of these correlates.

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