Differences in mortality of children in Bandafassi (Senegal): is it due to ethnic or geographic inequalities?

Malick Kante, Columbia University (CU)
Gilles Pison, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)

Child mortality varies by countries and within the same country, by regions and social groups. How these inequalities manifest themselves in rural Sub-Saharan Africa? In Senegal, the variations of child mortality can double by the place of residence. This paper proposes to examine inequalities in child mortality in the region of Bandafassi which the population has been followed for over thirty years. The research question is to determine if the evolution of health programmes has an impact on the inequalities in child mortality. This study shows that the place of residence appears to be one of the most discriminated factors in child health inducing a change in the geography of mortality in relation with evolutions of health care services in the region. Socio cultural factors, the ethnic group in particular, were a secondary influence on inequalities in child mortality.