Survie des enfants et caractéristiques des pères et des mères en République Démocratique du Congo

Details

Supervisors

Masquelier, Bruno

Faculty

Faculté des sciences économiques, sociales, politiques et de communication

Degree label

Master de spécialisation en méthodes quantitatives en sciences sociales

Abstract

enInfant and child mortality remains a major public health problem in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where it is estimated at 73.19 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023, compared to 68.82 in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNIGME). This study analyzes the influence of parental characteristics on child survival, using data from the third edition of the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023–2024. The results show that the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of parents have a significant influence on infant and child mortality, with a stronger influence of maternal characteristics. The mothers' level of education appears to be a key determinant: the proportion of children who died falls from approximately 11% among mothers with no education to 3% among those with a higher education. In multivariate analysis, secondary (β = −0.19; p < 0.001) and higher (β = −0.48; p < 0.001) education are associated with a significant reduction in mortality for children under 5 years of age. For fathers, the effect of education level becomes insignificant after adjustment, confirming that the fathers' level of education has a less pronounced impact on child survival. Household wealth is an important determinant: Very poor households have excess mortality of 1.22 (95% CI: [1.12–1.32]) when considering data from mothers and 1.37 (95% CI: [1.23–1.50]) for fathers, while very rich households have lower mortality of 0.55 (95% CI: [0.46–0.63]) among mothers and 0.64 (95% CI: [0.49–0.63]) among fathers. The proportion of deceased children varies from 11.16% in very poor households to approximately 5% in very rich households among mothers, and from 15% to 7% among fathers. Place of residence also shapes inequalities: child mortality is higher in rural areas (10% versus 6% for mothers; 12% versus 8% for fathers). The Infant Mortality Index (IMI) confirms these disparities, with 1.14 (95% CI: [1.05–1.23]) in rural areas versus 0.68 (95% CI: [0.61–0.75]) in urban areas for mothers, and 1.13 (95% CI: [1.05–1.22]) versus 0.71 (95% CI: [0.60 - 0.82]) in fathers. Significant provincial disparities are observed, with high levels in the provinces of Tshuapa , Sankuru, Mongala and Kasai, and lower levels in Kinshasa, North Kivu and Mai-Ndombe. Overall, multivariate analyses confirm that maternal characteristics, particularly education level and place of residence, have a stronger influence on child survival than paternal characteristics. However, household wealth remains a contextual factor for both parents, acting as a major determinant of survival.