Sex Differentials in Child Survival in Zimbabwe
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Abstract
Health strategies which consider sex and gender elements have been noted to be cost effective and more successful than those which do not. The main objective of this paper is to investigate whether an observed widening of the sex differential in child mortality in Zimbabwe represents an avoidable and inequitable bias against the male child. Other objectives include examining the sex differentials in child mortality and also to examine determinants of child survival within the proximate determinants framework. The Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey kids recode dataset collected between 2010 and 2011 is analysed using survival analysis and multivariate decomposition techniques. There is evidence of sex differentials in child mortality since 1983 although it only achieves statistical significance between 2005 and 2011. Sex of the child, religious beliefs, birth weight, birth order and birth interval are found influencing child survival. Socioeconomic characteristics and returns from these characteristics have conflicting influences on the sex differential in child mortality. Birth weight consistently contributing towards the reduction of the sex gap in child mortality in urban areas and amongst the rich. The findings appear to suggest that the sex gap, although widened, is hugely equitable since we could not justify that socioeconomic variables play any significant role with the exception of interventions towards higher birth weight.
Keywords
sex differential; child survival; survival analysis; decomposition analysis
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