Factors affecting high infant mortality in Lesotho, 2009

Thabo Khule, Statistics South Africa

Background: Lesotho is amongst the countries in the world to experience high infant mortality. Studies show that infant mortality differs depending on certain factors. Method:The study was based on secondary data analysis of the Lesotho Demographic Health Survey 2009 infants with a sample size of 3999.Univariate, Bivariate and the Cox Hazard Regression Model was employed to examine both the unadjusted and adjusted effect of infant mortality. Results: The unadjusted results indicated that infant mortality factors including educational attainment, sex of the child and source of drinking water had significant associations with infant mortality. However place of residence, toilet and wealth index did not have significant associations with infant mortality in the region. The multivariate results indicated that infant mortality was associated with some factors which the study focused on. Exclusively secondary education attainment exhibited the lowest risk of mortality Conclusion: Mothers’ educational attainment can be considered as an important variable towards infant mortality