The effect of mothers’ education on prevalence of childhood anemia in Uganda

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to examine the effect of mothers’ education and other socioeconomic and community factors on the prevalence of child anemia in Uganda. The study employed data from the Uganda Demographic Survey (2016). The study used both descriptive analysis and estimation of probit and ordered probit to examine the effect mother’s education and on the prevalence of childhood anemia in urban and rural areas in Uganda. The study provides a set of findings from the data analysis. First, the study findings indicate that mother’s education attainment and the partner’s schooling are highly associated with the prevalence of child anemia in Uganda. Second, the socio-economic factors like age of the mother, education attainment and residence are important in explaining the prevalence of childhood anemia in Uganda. From the study findings, the major implication of these results is that raising women’s education improves their economic opportunities; therefore, government should encourage free women education to equip them with good skills and knowledge. Also, measures aimed at promoting behavioral change of women can greatly improve children’s health outcomes in terms of low prevalence of childhood anemia.