How Many More Infants Are Likely to Die in Africa as a Result of the Global Financial Crisis?
The human consequences of the current global financial crisis for the developing world are presumed to be severe yet few studies have quantified such impact. The authors estimate the additional number of infant deaths in sub-Saharan Africa likely due to the crisis and discuss possible mitigation strategies. They pool birth-level data as reported in female adult retrospective birth histories from all Demographic and Health Surveys collected in sub-Saharan Africa nations. This results in a data set of 639,000 births to 264,000 women in 30 countries. The authors use regression models with flexible controls for temporal trends to assess an infant s likelihood of death as a function of fluctuations in national income. They then apply this estimated likelihood to expected growth shortfalls as a result of the crisis. At current growth projections, their estimates suggest there will be 30,000 - 50,000 excess infant deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of these additional deaths are likely to be poorer children (born to women in rural areas and lower education levels) and are overwhelmingly female. If the crisis continues to worsen the number of deaths may grow much larger, especially those to girls. Policies that protect the income of poor households and that maintain critical health services during times of economic contraction should be considered. Interventions targeted at female infants and young girls may be particularly beneficial.
| Summary: | The human consequences of the current
global financial crisis for the developing world are
presumed to be severe yet few studies have quantified such
impact. The authors estimate the additional number of infant
deaths in sub-Saharan Africa likely due to the crisis and
discuss possible mitigation strategies. They pool
birth-level data as reported in female adult retrospective
birth histories from all Demographic and Health Surveys
collected in sub-Saharan Africa nations. This results in a
data set of 639,000 births to 264,000 women in 30 countries.
The authors use regression models with flexible controls for
temporal trends to assess an infant s likelihood of death as
a function of fluctuations in national income. They then
apply this estimated likelihood to expected growth
shortfalls as a result of the crisis. At current growth
projections, their estimates suggest there will be 30,000 -
50,000 excess infant deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of
these additional deaths are likely to be poorer children
(born to women in rural areas and lower education levels)
and are overwhelmingly female. If the crisis continues to
worsen the number of deaths may grow much larger, especially
those to girls. Policies that protect the income of poor
households and that maintain critical health services during
times of economic contraction should be considered.
Interventions targeted at female infants and young girls may
be particularly beneficial. |
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