Fertility levels and trends in the face of the AIDS epidemic in Uganda

Abstract

The paper uses data on ever-married women interviewed in 1992 and 1995 surveys in six districts of Uganda. Total fertility rates declined during the inter-survey period from 7.3 to 6.0. Women in households that experienced AIDS-related deaths had lower fertility levels than women in non-AIDS-affected households in both 1992 and 1995. This pattern was true of women at older ages, in polygamous unions, the widowed and separated, and among the highly educated and the uneducated.

PIP: Data on ever-married women in 1797 urban and rural households in the Mbale, Iganga, Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale, and Hoima districts of Uganda were obtained in a 1992 survey. Each household had experienced a death, mainly since 1982. 2352 households including those in the 1992 study were later interviewed in a 1995 survey. The additional households surveyed in 1995 had experienced a death during 1992-95. Total fertility rates declined during the period from 7.3 to 6.0. Women in households which experienced AIDS-related deaths had lower fertility levels than women in non-AIDS-affected households in both 1992 and 1995. That pattern held true for women at older ages, women in polygamous unions, the widowed and separated, and among the highly educated and the uneducated.