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МОНГОЛЫН ХҮН АМЫН СЭТГҮҮЛ Дугаар (367) 20, 2011
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FACTORS AFFECTING CHILD MORTALITY IN MONGOLIA (RHS 2008)
Erdenechimeg Ulziisuren, MA in Demography
Analyst, Population and Housing Census Bureau,
National Statistical Office of Mongolia
Abstract
This study aimed to identify the factors affecting child mortality in Mongolia using the secondary
data Reproductive Health Survey 2008 by the National Statistical Office of Mongolia. The unit of analysis
is 3,924 children who were born in the five years prior to the survey. Bivariate and multivariate analysis
were employed. The results show that children who were breastfed were 96 per cent less likely to die than
those who were never breastfed. In addition, children whose mothers were aged 30-49 years old were 81
per cent less likely than the children whose mothers were aged 20 years old or less, children whose birth
weight was greater than 2,500 gm were 71 per cent less likely to die than those with a birth weight of less
than 2,500 gm, and female children were 48 per cent less likely to experience death than male children.
Thus, family planning programs should be strengthened to prevent teenage pregnancy, and should carry
out more actions to raise awareness of benefits of breastfeeding.
KEYWORDS: Under five child mortality, infant mortality, reproductive health
INTRODUCTION
First five years of human life is vulnerable and
determining period of one’s life to survive.
UN reports that, globally, 8.8 million children
a year, or 22,000 a day, die before they reach
five years old, and pneumonia, diarrhea, and
under-nutrition are the main three factors
affecting child deaths which can be prevented.
Therefore, United Nations set the Millennium
Development Goal 4 (MDG 4) to reduce the
under-five mortality rate (U5MR) by two-
thirds between 1990 and 2015.
Child mortality rate has been substantially
decreasing in the past two decades in
Mongolia. According to RHS 2008,
U5MR was 24.9 per 1,000 live births. The
Government of Mongolia has set a goal of
reducing U5MR to 21 per 1,000 live births by
2015. Despite the progress toward reducing
child mortality, infant mortality rate still
remains with high age-specific death rates and
a high IMR at the level of other developing
countries (RHS, 2008).
Few theories related with child mortality
were developed especially in the context
of developing countries. Mosley and Chen
framework, and UNICEF framework suggest
that maternal, environmental, nutritious,
external and personal factors can have impact
on child mortality. According to the ‘Macro-
social change theory,’ inequality and unequal
distribution of resources affect human life
quality which leads to child mortality (Paterno,
2007).
It is almost common knowledge that children
born to young or older mothers have more
chance of child mortality than the other
age groups (Bongaarts, 1987; Davis, 1988;
Sullivian et al, 1994). Moreover, mother’s
education has inverse relationship with the
state of child survival; the lower the mother’s
education level is, the higher the risk of child
mortality is. (Haines, 1978; Caldwell, 1979;
Cochrane, 1980). Income has direct impact
on mother and child health, so the higher the
income per capita, the better the nutrition of
food, hygienic situation, and accessibility to
health services which all have impact on child
health (Girma & Genebo, 2002; Kabubo et al.,
2006; Mahgoub et al., 2006). Due to unequal
distribution and shortage of health facilities
and resources, and lower educated inhabitants