Socioeconomic Determinants Of Child Mortality Among Liberian Rural Households In Margibi County

Abstract

The child mortality rate is a vital indices of socioeconomic development and the value of life in Liberia. Liberia is among the countries that rank highest in records of child mortality in Africa. Therefore, this study aimed at identifying the socioeconomic factors of child mortality in Liberia. The study employs use of primary data that were collected from some selected three rural communities in Kakata, the capital of Margibi County of Liberia. A total of 137 households were sampled through simple random and purposive sampling technique. The data collected include household socioeconomic data such as age, sex, education, marital status, and occupation of both the household head and mother. Others are household income, household size, and distance of residence to nearest health facility. Binary logit regression model was used for analyzing the data. The study discovered that age of household head, educational attainment of the mother, and household wealth status have inverse relationship with incidence of child mortality. On the other hand, distance to healthcare facility, household size and dependence on streams and unprotected well as source of water have direct relationship with occurrence of child mortality in the study area. It was concluded that government should ensure establishment of adequate health facilities in rural communities, portable sources of water, and female gender education; while households should embark on family planning program for better livelihoods for their children.