Fertility and child mortality in agricultural households of rural Ethiopia : the case of Arssi administrative region

Abstract

This study has attempted to analyze levels, patterns and differentials of fertility, and child mortality in agricultural households of Arssi administrative region. The study population consisted of 2945 women aged 15 to 49 years, who were categorized according to the social and demographic aspects of their lives which were thought to have an effect on their fertility and mortality of their children. It was found that fertility levels among farmers in rural Arssi region were very high. The analysis of fertility differentials indicated that 48 per cent of variation in fertility among women in Arssi was explained by the independent variables considered in the study with the exception of ethnicity. The Multiple Classification Analysis showed that ethnicity had no effect on fertility. In Chapter Pour, the results obtained using the Indirect Method of Analysis showed that the probability of Infant Mortality( oQl ) was exceedingly high when compared with the probability of Child Mortality( 1Q4 ). This is thought to be related to the early age at which solid foods are introduced to infants. Also, the unavailability of medication in rural Arssi might be a possible explanation for the observed high Infant Mortality in the 1980 survey population. It is also shown that more Muslims than Christians, more Oromo women than Amhara women and more illiterate women than literate women experienced a high level of Infant and Child Mortality. Show more