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. 2019 Sep 9;19(1):1243.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-7547-x.

Determinants of trends in neonatal, post-neonatal, infant, child and under-five mortalities in Tanzania from 2004 to 2016

Felix Akpojene Ogbo  1   2 , Osita Kingsley Ezeh  3 , Akorede O Awosemo  4 , Ifegwu K Ifegwu  4 , Lawrence Tan  5 , Emmanuel Jessa  5 , Deborah Charwe  6 , Kingsley Emwinyore Agho  7   3
Affiliations

Determinants of trends in neonatal, post-neonatal, infant, child and under-five mortalities in Tanzania from 2004 to 2016

Felix Akpojene Ogbo et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Under-five mortality is still a major health issue in many developing countries like Tanzania. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goal target of ending preventable child deaths in Tanzania, a detailed understanding of the risk factors for under-five deaths is essential to guide targeted interventions. This study aimed to investigate trends and determinants of neonatal, post-neonatal, infant, child and under-five mortalities in Tanzania from 2004 to 2016.

Methods: The study used combined data from the 2004-2005, 2010 and 2015-2016 Tanzania Demographic and Health Surveys, with a sample of 25,951 singletons live births and 1585 under-five deaths. We calculated age-specific mortality rates, followed by an assessment of trends and determinants (community, socioeconomic, individual and health service) of neonatal, postneonatal, infant, child and under-five mortalities in Cox regression models. The models adjusted for potential confounders, clustering and sampling weights.

Results: Between 2004 and 2016, we found that neonatal mortality rate remained unchanged, while postneonatal mortality and child mortality rates have halved in Tanzania. Infant mortality and under-five mortality rates have also declined. Mothers who gave births through caesarean section, younger mothers (< 20 years), mothers who perceived their babies to be small or very small and those with fourth or higher birth rank and a short preceding birth interval (≤2 years) reported higher risk of neonatal, postneonatal and infant mortalities.

Conclusion: Our study suggests that there was increased survival of children under-5 years in Tanzania driven by significant improvements in postneonatal, infant and child survival rates. However, there remains unfinished work in ending preventable child deaths in Tanzania.

Keywords: Child; Infant; Mortality, Tanzania; Neonatal; Under-five.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. FAO is a member of the editorial board (Associate Editor) of BMC Public Health but did not play any role in the peer-review and decision making process for this manuscript.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Neonatal, postneonatal, infant, child and under-five deaths per 1000 live births (singleton), with 95% confidence intervals in Tanzania, 2004–2016
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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