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The effect of female migration on infant and child survival in Uganda

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Abstract

This article uses data from the 1996 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey to examine whether migration of women improves the survival chances of their children to age five. We expand on prior research by testing not only the hypothesized positive effect of rural-urban migration, but also the effects of other migration stream behaviours on child survival. Results show that up to 10% of children die before age five and within-group differences in mortality exist among urban and rural children depending on their mother's migration status. Only urban-urban migration was significantly related to child survival, compared to rural non-migrants, after controlling for other factors, although other streams of migration (rural-urban, urban-rural, rural-rural) were positively related to child survival. Generally, migration explains a small component of the variance in child survival. Several other factors, including parents' education, household size, household headship, mother's age at birth, duration of breastfeeding, and place of delivery have a significant predictive power on child survival.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for International Development, Research Triangle Institute, USA

    Robert Ssengonzi

  2. Population Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, USA

    Gordon F. De Jong

  3. Population Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, USA

    C. Shannon Stokes

Authors
  1. Robert Ssengonzi
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  2. Gordon F. De Jong
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  3. C. Shannon Stokes
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Ssengonzi, R., De Jong, G.F. & Shannon Stokes, C. The effect of female migration on infant and child survival in Uganda. Population Research and Policy Review 21, 403–431 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021164416703

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