Assessing the effect of Mothers' Migration on childhood mortality in the informal settlements of Nairobi
Author(s): A. Konseiga E. M. Zulu Y. Ye
The article analyses the survival patterns of children under five years of age who reside in two informal settlements in Nairobi - Viwandani and Korogocho - by proposing the hypothesis that those children who are born to recent migrant mothers are more likely to die. The research is based on longitudinal data that were collected every four months between 2003 and 2006. The results of the research provide evidence that migration is a risk factor for childhood mortality, e.g. children from migrant mothers have higher mortality rates. This situation could be explained by the living conditions in the slum to which the incoming children are not yet adapted. But it is also possibly due to the fact that the mothers may not yet be integrated into the new environment and may not know how and where to seek out health care services for their children.