Research conducted in Africa has demonstrated consistently that parental poverty and low educational attainment adversely affect child survival. Relative poverty has a pronounced effect on the survival of children, even in a setting where nearly all families are poor. Results from the research presented in the working paper lend strong support to the United Nations’ goal of reducing excess childhood mortality among the poor by directing a particular focus on immunization. Findings in this working paper show that the adverse effects of poverty disappear and that the effects of educational attainment are reduced in survival models that control for immunization status. This finding lends empirical support to policies that promote immunization as a strategic component of poverty-reduction programs.
Bawah, Ayaga A., James F. Phillips, Martin Adjuik, Maya Vaughan-Smith, Bruce MacLeod, and Fred N. Binka. 2006. "The impact of immunization on the association between poverty and child survival: Evidence from Kassena-Nankana District of northern Ghana," Policy Research Division Working Paper no. 218. New York: Population Council.
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