Abstract:
Introduction: Under-five child mortality is a factor that can be associated with the safety of a
population and taken as one of the development indicators of health and socioeconomic status.
According to MDGs report in 2013, the rate of decline in under-five child mortality has
accelerated globally and in many regions. There is disparity of under-five child mortality rate
from region to region in Ethiopia. The core objective of this study was to investigate the
existence of regional heterogeneity (differentials) in under-five child mortality and identify
important determinant of under-five child mortality in Ethiopia.
Method: Data from the 2011 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey were used to determine
mortality among under-five children (n=11654) in Ethiopia. Logistic regression and multilevel
logistic regression models were used to explore the major risk factors and regional variations in
under-five children mortality in Ethiopia using 2011 EDHS data set.
Results: The results obtained from standard logistic and multilevel logistic regression showed
that sex of child, family size, mother’s education, age at first birth of mother, breast-feeding and
using contraceptive methods significantly affect under-five child mortality and there is variation
of under-five child mortality from region to region. It was also found that a random coefficient
model was the best description of the data set among multilevel logistic regression models.
Conclusion: This study has revealed that sex of the child, family size, education level of mother,
age at first birth of mother, breast-feeding, using contraceptive method and region of child were
found to be significant determinants of under-five child mortality in Ethiopia. The multilevel
logistic model provided interesting relationships that would not be evident from a standard
logistic model. There is a variation of under-five child mortality from region to region and there
is a variation of under-five child mortality within regions.
