Rural-Urban Differences in Infant/Child Morbidity and Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa

Maxwell N. Kwenda, Bowling Green State University

The study examines the rural-urban gap in infant and child health outcomes in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe using DHS data. The investigation focuses on the health outcomes of six types of migrants and nonmigrants: rural and urban nonmigrants, rural-rural, rural-urban, urban-rural, and urban-urban migrants. Multinomial logistic regression and survival analysis techniques are employed to assess whether internal migration brings better health outcomes given the proximate determinants of child survival. I develop two key hypotheses. First, the socioeconomic development of these countries with respect to urbanization differs markedly from that of industrialized nations. There are now no substantial differences between rural and urban areas due to declining investments in health infrastructure. Second, the mother's background still remains crucial in understanding children's health outcomes. A contribution of this study is that is provides an innovative integrated analysis of factors associated with positive and negative outcomes in urban and rural areas.