Table 1.
Individual‐, household‐ and community‐level characteristics of children aged 6–23 months and their parents across seven francophone West African countries (2006–2012)
| Characteristic |
Benin (n = 3732) |
Burkina Faso (n = 4205) |
Cote d'Ivoire (n = 2109) |
Guinea (n = 1944) |
Mali (n = 3798) |
Niger (n = 3451) |
Senegal (n = 3137) |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | |
| Individual‐level factors | ||||||||||||||
| Mother's working status | ||||||||||||||
| Non‐working | 2477 | 66.4 | 3442 | 81.9 | 1401 | 66.4 | 1498 | 77.1 | 2413 | 63.6 | 2675 | 77.5 | 2105 | 67.1 |
| Working (past 12 months) | 1255 | 33.6 | 762 | 18.1 | 708 | 33.6 | 446 | 22.9 | 1384 | 36.4 | 776 | 22.5 | 1032 | 32.9 |
| Father's occupation | ||||||||||||||
| Non‐agricultural | 1969 | 52.8 | 1130 | 27.3 | 785 | 37.2 | 651 | 39.4 | 1207 | 34.3 | 1889 | 54.8 | 819 | 26.0 |
| Agricultural | 1602 | 42.9 | 3010 | 72.7 | 991 | 47.0 | 937 | 56.7 | 2308 | 65.7 | 1562 | 45.3 | 2318 | 74.0 |
| Not working | 161 | 4.3 | ||||||||||||
| Mother's education | ||||||||||||||
| No schooling | 2594 | 69.5 | 3492 | 83.1 | 1317 | 62.5 | 1470 | 75.6 | 3215 | 84.7 | 2917 | 84.6 | 2176 | 69.0 |
| Primary | 630 | 16.9 | 459 | 10.9 | 558 | 26.5 | 263 | 13.6 | 391 | 10.3 | 339 | 9.8 | 707 | 23.0 |
| Secondary and higher | 508 | 13.6 | 253 | 6.0 | 233 | 11.1 | 211 | 10.8 | 192 | 5.1 | 192 | 5.6 | 254 | 8.0 |
| Father's education | ||||||||||||||
| No schooling | 1882 | 55.6 | 3398 | 82.2 | 989 | 56.1 | 1246 | 68.3 | 2940 | 80.3 | 2767 | 81.5 | 2159 | 77.6 |
| Primary | 695 | 20.5 | 478 | 11.6 | 393 | 22.3 | 229 | 12.6 | 426 | 11.7 | 393 | 11.6 | 327 | 11.8 |
| Secondary and higher | 807 | 23.8 | 259 | 6.2 | 381 | 21.6 | 349 | 19.1 | 294 | 8 | 235 | 6.9 | 296 | 10.6 |
| Mother's literacy | ||||||||||||||
| No | 2812 | 75.5 | 3613 | 85.9 | 1537 | 72.9 | 1666 | 85.7 | 3389 | 89.4 | 3104 | 89.9 | 2316 | 74.1 |
| Yes | 913 | 24.5 | 592 | 14.1 | 572 | 27.1 | 278 | 14.3 | 401 | 10.6 | 347 | 10.1 | 809 | 25.9 |
| Mother's age (years) | ||||||||||||||
| 15–24 | 1000 | 26.8 | 1437 | 34.2 | 780 | 37.0 | 698 | 35.9 | 1389 | 36.6 | 1072 | 31.1 | 1004 | 32.0 |
| 25–34 | 2037 | 54.6 | 1915 | 45.5 | 990 | 46.9 | 834 | 42.9 | 1687 | 44.4 | 1703 | 49.4 | 1504 | 48.0 |
| 35–49 | 695 | 18.6 | 854 | 20.3 | 339 | 16.1 | 412 | 21.2 | 722 | 19 | 675 | 19.6 | 628 | 20.0 |
| Mother's age at child's birth (years) | ||||||||||||||
| Less than 20 | 398 | 10.7 | 562 | 13.4 | 361 | 17.1 | 409 | 21.0 | 727 | 19.1 | 535 | 15.5 | 449 | 14.3 |
| 20–29 | 2161 | 57.9 | 2210 | 52.6 | 1128 | 53.5 | 952 | 49.0 | 1979 | 52.1 | 1852 | 53.7 | 1663 | 53.0 |
| 30–39 | 1039 | 27.8 | 1218 | 29.0 | 530 | 25.1 | 487 | 25.0 | 953 | 25.1 | 943 | 27.3 | 888 | 28.3 |
| More than 40 | 134 | 3.6 | 215 | 5.1 | 89 | 4.2 | 96 | 5.0 | 140 | 3.7 | 121 | 3.5 | 137 | 4.4 |
| Maternal BMI (kg m−2) | ||||||||||||||
| Less than 18 | 117 | 3.2 | 197 | 9.5 | 37 | 3.6 | 80 | 7.9 | 271 | 7.2 | 138 | 9.0 | 170 | 14.5 |
| 18–25 | 2635 | 72.0 | 1708 | 82.6 | 817 | 77.9 | 792 | 77.4 | 2964 | 78.7 | 1122 | 73.2 | 768 | 65.5 |
| More than 25 | 908 | 24.8 | 162 | 7.8 | 195 | 18.6 | 151 | 14.7 | 533 | 14.1 | 273 | 17.8 | 235 | 20.0 |
| Mother's marital status | ||||||||||||||
| Currently married | 3499 | 93.8 | 4086 | 97.2 | 1778 | 84.3 | 1796 | 92.4 | 3693 | 97.3 | 3387 | 98.2 | 2945 | 93.9 |
| Formerly marrieda | 233 | 6.2 | 118 | 2.8 | 331 | 15.7 | 148 | 7.6 | 105 | 2.8 | 64 | 1.8 | 192 | 6.1 |
| Mother's religion | ||||||||||||||
| Muslim | 1640 | 44.0 | 2682 | 63.8 | 1281 | 60.8 | 1705 | 87.7 | 3470 | 91.4 | 3047 | 97.0 | ||
| Christian | 2092 | 56.0 | 1510 | 35.9 | 828 | 39.3 | 239 | 12.3 | 328 | 8.6 | 90 | 3.0 | ||
| Birth order of child | ||||||||||||||
| First‐born | 752 | 20.1 | 710 | 16.9 | 471 | 22.4 | 416 | 21.4 | 636 | 16.8 | 444 | 12.9 | 684 | 21.8 |
| 2nd–4th | 2003 | 53.7 | 1991 | 47.4 | 1044 | 49.5 | 875 | 45.0 | 1670 | 44.0 | 1408 | 40.8 | 1460 | 46.5 |
| 5th or higher | 977 | 26.2 | 1504 | 35.8 | 594 | 28.2 | 653 | 33.6 | 1492 | 39.3 | 1599 | 46.3 | 993 | 31.7 |
| Preceding birth interval | ||||||||||||||
| No previous birth | 752 | 20.2 | 710 | 16.9 | 471 | 22.4 | 416 | 21.5 | 636 | 16.8 | 444 | 12.9 | 684 | 21.8 |
| <24 months | 352 | 9.5 | 355 | 8.5 | 208 | 9.9 | 137 | 7.0 | 575 | 15.2 | 559 | 16.3 | 350 | 11.2 |
| >24 months | 2620 | 70.3 | 3136 | 74.7 | 1426 | 67.7 | 1389 | 71.6 | 2583 | 68.1 | 2439 | 70.9 | 2101 | 67.0 |
| Sex of baby | ||||||||||||||
| Male | 1928 | 51.7 | 2131 | 50.7 | 1017 | 48.2 | 1032 | 53.1 | 1937 | 51.0 | 1718 | 49.8 | 1644 | 52.4 |
| Female | 1804 | 48.3 | 2075 | 49.3 | 1092 | 51.8 | 912 | 46.9 | 1861 | 49.0 | 1733 | 50.2 | 1493 | 47.6 |
| Perceived size of baby | ||||||||||||||
| Small | 447 | 12.6 | 504 | 12.0 | 286 | 13.9 | 251 | 12.9 | 735 | 19.7 | 950 | 28.2 | 914 | 29.3 |
| Average | 2449 | 68.8 | 2311 | 55.1 | 703 | 34.2 | 766 | 39.5 | 1179 | 31.6 | 1771 | 52.6 | 1420 | 45.5 |
| Large | 662 | 18.6 | 1381 | 32.9 | 1066 | 51.9 | 925 | 47.6 | 1814 | 48.7 | 645 | 19.2 | 788 | 25.2 |
| Age of child (months) | ||||||||||||||
| 6–11 | 1304 | 34.9 | 1469 | 34.9 | 763 | 36.2 | 700 | 36.0 | 1300 | 34.2 | 1279 | 37.1 | 1064 | 33.9 |
| 12–17 | 1210 | 32.5 | 1451 | 34.5 | 699 | 33.1 | 752 | 38.7 | 1528 | 40.2 | 1331 | 38.6 | 1208 | 38.5 |
| 18–23 | 1218 | 32.6 | 1286 | 30.6 | 648 | 30.7 | 492 | 25.3 | 970 | 25.5 | 841 | 24.4 | 865 | 27.6 |
| Place of delivery | ||||||||||||||
| Home | 441 | 11.8 | 1101 | 26.2 | 849 | 40.2 | 1154 | 59.3 | 1957 | 51.5 | 2252 | 65.3 | 839 | 26.7 |
| Health facility | 3291 | 88.2 | 3105 | 73.8 | 1260 | 59.8 | 790 | 40.7 | 1841 | 48.5 | 1199 | 34.7 | 2299 | 73.3 |
| Child had diarrhoea (last 2 weeks) | ||||||||||||||
| No | 3339 | 90.1 | 3202 | 76.2 | 1557 | 73.8 | 1503 | 77.3 | 2960 | 78.2 | 2579 | 74.7 | 2144 | 68.4 |
| Yes | 369 | 9.9 | 998 | 23.8 | 552 | 26.2 | 441 | 22.7 | 825 | 21.8 | 872 | 25.3 | 992 | 31.6 |
| Child had ARI (past 2 weeks) | ||||||||||||||
| No | 236 | 59.3 | 341 | 58.9 | 1874 | 88.9 | 1637 | 84.2 | 372 | 56.7 | 3092 | 89.6 | 275 | 35.7 |
| Yes | 161 | 40.7 | 238 | 41.1 | 235 | 11.1 | 307 | 15.8 | 284 | 43.3 | 359 | 10.4 | 494 | 64.3 |
| Child had fever (last 2 weeks) | ||||||||||||||
| No | 3264 | 87.9 | 2973 | 70.7 | 1441 | 68.3 | 1261 | 64.8 | 2782 | 73.5 | 2725 | 79.0 | 2175 | 69.4 |
| Yes | 450 | 12.1 | 1231 | 29.3 | 668 | 31.7 | 683 | 35.2 | 1006 | 26.6 | 726 | 21.1 | 961 | 30.6 |
| Type of delivery assistance | ||||||||||||||
| Health professional | 2956 | 81.0 | 2955 | 72.1 | 1277 | 60.7 | 769 | 45.1 | 964 | 29.2 | 1178 | 34.2 | 1704 | 57.0 |
| Traditional birth attendant | 125 | 3.4 | 299 | 7.3 | 299 | 14.2 | 500 | 29.3 | 1718 | 52.1 | 1038 | 30.1 | 239 | 8.0 |
| Other untrained personnel | 567 | 15.6 | 848 | 20.7 | 529 | 25.1 | 437 | 25.6 | 619 | 18.7 | 1234 | 35.8 | 1044 | 35.0 |
| Mode of delivery | ||||||||||||||
| Non‐caesarean | 3511 | 94.1 | 4115 | 97.9 | 2047 | 97.1 | 1889 | 97.2 | 3738 | 98.4 | 3407 | 98.7 | 2946 | 93.9 |
| Caesarean | 219 | 5.9 | 89 | 2.1 | 61 | 2.9 | 55 | 2.8 | 60 | 1.6 | 44 | 1.3 | 148 | 4.7 |
| Antenatal clinic visits | ||||||||||||||
| None | 419 | 11.8 | 149 | 3.5 | 152 | 7.2 | 257 | 13.3 | 999 | 26.9 | 406 | 11.8 | 134 | 4.4 |
| 1–3 | 928 | 26.1 | 2672 | 63.6 | 1031 | 49.1 | 580 | 30.0 | 1307 | 35.2 | 1823 | 53.1 | 1412 | 45.7 |
| 4+ | 2213 | 62.1 | 1381 | 32.9 | 918 | 43.7 | 1098 | 56.7 | 1405 | 37.9 | 1207 | 35.1 | 1542 | 49.9 |
| Timing of post‐natal check‐up | ||||||||||||||
| Missing | 2243 | 60.1 | 1977 | 47.0 | 708 | 33.6 | 1262 | 76.3 | 2018 | 58.5 | 789 | 25.1 | ||
| 0–2 days | 1090 | 29.2 | 1621 | 38.5 | 1158 | 54.9 | 157 | 9.5 | 951 | 27.6 | 1461 | 46.6 | ||
| 3–6 days | 357 | 9.6 | 503 | 12.0 | 208 | 9.9 | 33 | 2.0 | 180 | 5.2 | 310 | 9.9 | ||
| 7th day or later | 43 | 1.1 | 105 | 2.5 | 36 | 1.7 | 202 | 12.2 | 302 | 8.7 | 577 | 18.4 | ||
| Mother read newspaper/magazine | ||||||||||||||
| No | 3392 | 90.9 | 3992 | 95.1 | 1871 | 88.7 | 1848 | 95.0 | 3632 | 96.1 | 3364 | 97.5 | 2724 | 86.8 |
| Yes | 340 | 9.1 | 207 | 4.9 | 238 | 11.3 | 96 | 5.0 | 149 | 3.9 | 87 | 2.5 | 413 | 13.2 |
| Mother listened to the radio | ||||||||||||||
| No | 1397 | 37.4 | 1321 | 31.5 | 1272 | 60.3 | 724 | 37.2 | 781 | 20.6 | 1286 | 37.3 | 556 | 17.7 |
| Yes | 2335 | 62.6 | 2878 | 68.5 | 838 | 39.7 | 1220 | 62.80 | 3009 | 79.4 | 2165 | 62.7 | 2581 | 82.3 |
| Mother watched television | ||||||||||||||
| No | 2098 | 56.2 | 3181 | 75.9 | 972 | 46.1 | 1197 | 61.6 | 1908 | 50.3 | 2679 | 77.6 | 1055 | 33.6 |
| Yes | 1634 | 43.8 | 1013 | 24.2 | 1137 | 53.9 | 747 | 38.4 | 1882 | 49.7 | 772 | 22.4 | 2082 | 66.4 |
| Household‐level factors | ||||||||||||||
| Household Wealth Index | ||||||||||||||
| Poor | 1518 | 40.7 | 1732 | 41.2 | 947 | 44.9 | 830 | 42.7 | 1527 | 40.2 | 1309 | 37.9 | 1394 | 44.4 |
| Middle | 1441 | 38.6 | 1820 | 43.3 | 812 | 38.5 | 785 | 40.4 | 1592 | 41.9 | 1464 | 42.4 | 1259 | 40.1 |
| Rich | 773 | 20.7 | 652 | 15.5 | 350 | 16.6 | 329 | 16.9 | 679 | 17.9 | 678 | 19.7 | 485 | 15.5 |
| Source of drinking water | ||||||||||||||
| Unprotected | 903 | 24.2 | 1115 | 26.5 | 542 | 25.7 | 695 | 35.7 | 1731 | 45.6 | 1116 | 32.3 | 819 | 26.1 |
| Protected | 2829 | 75.8 | 3091 | 73.5 | 1567 | 74.3 | 1249 | 64.3 | 2067 | 54.4 | 2335 | 67.7 | 2318 | 73.9 |
| Community‐level factors | ||||||||||||||
| Residence | ||||||||||||||
| Urban | 1557 | 41.7 | 749 | 17.8 | 825 | 39.1 | 531 | 27.3 | 1025 | 27.0 | 498 | 14.4 | 1227 | 39.1 |
| Rural | 2175 | 58.3 | 3457 | 82.2 | 1284 | 60.9 | 1413 | 72.7 | 2773 | 73.0 | 2953 | 85.6 | 1910 | 60.9 |
| Geographical/administrative region | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | 241 | 6.5 | 517 | 12.3 | 159 | 7.5 | 202 | 10.4 | 586 | 15.4 | 48 | 1.4 | 636 | 22.4 |
| 2 | 357 | 9.6 | 152 | 3.6 | 55 | 2.6 | 292 | 15.0 | 658 | 17.3 | 80 | 2.3 | 99 | 3.5 |
| 3 | 478 | 12.8 | 376 | 8.9 | 157 | 7.5 | 183 | 9.4 | 706 | 18.6 | 429 | 12.4 | 377 | 13.3 |
| 4 | 297 | 8.0 | 340 | 8.1 | 347 | 16.4 | 332 | 17.1 | 679 | 17.9 | 771 | 22.3 | 197 | 7.0 |
| 5 | 214 | 5.7 | 313 | 7.4 | 134 | 6.3 | 296 | 15.2 | 402 | 10.6 | 752 | 21.8 | 167 | 5.9 |
| 6 | 257 | 6.9 | 309 | 7.3 | 86 | 4.1 | 173 | 8.9 | 153 | 4.0 | 410 | 11.9 | 274 | 9.7 |
| 7 | 143 | 3.8 | 203 | 4.8 | 101 | 4.8 | 142 | 7.3 | 170 | 4.5 | 748 | 21.7 | 394 | 13.9 |
| 8 | 434 | 11.6 | 459 | 10.9 | 285 | 13.5 | 324 | 16.7 | 10 | 0.3 | 213 | 6.2 | 218 | 7.7 |
| 9 | 185 | 4.9 | 474 | 11.3 | 290 | 13.8 | 433 | 11.4 | 179 | 6.3 | ||||
| 10 | 520 | 13.9 | 309 | 7.4 | 166 | 7.9 | 173 | 6.0 | ||||||
| 11 | 274 | 7.4 | 187 | 4.4 | 330 | 15.7 | 121 | 4.3 | ||||||
| 12 | 333 | 8.9 | 383 | 9.1 | ||||||||||
| 13 | 183 | 4.4 | ||||||||||||
Separated, divorced or widowed.
1 = Alibori (Benin), Boucle de Mouhoun (Burkina Faso), Centre (Cote d'Ivoire), Boké (Guinea), Agadez (Niger), Kayes (Mali) and Dakar (Senegal); 2 = Atacora (Benin), Cascades (Burkina Faso), Centre‐Est (Cote d'Ivoire), Conakry (Guinea), Diffa (Niger), Koulikor (Mali) and Diourbel (Senegal). 3 = Atlanti (Benin), Centre (Burkina Faso), Centre‐Nord (Cote d'Ivoire), Faranah (Guinea), Dosso (Niger), Sikasso (Mali) and Fatick (Senegal). 4 = Borgou (Benin), Centre‐Est (Burkina Faso), Centre‐Ouest (Cote d'Ivoire), Kankan (Guinea), Maradi (Niger), Segou (Mali) and Kaolack (Senegal). 5 = Colline (Benin), Centre‐nord (Burkina Faso), Nord (Cote d'Ivoire), Kindia (Guinea), Tahoua (Niger), Mopti (Mali) and Kolda (Senegal). 6 = Couffo (Benin), Centre‐ouest (Burkina Faso), Nord‐est (Cote d'Ivoire), Labé (Guinea), Tillabér (Niger), Tombouct (Mali) and Louga (Senegal). 7 = Donga (Benin), Centre‐sud (Burkina Faso), Nord‐Ouest (Cote d'Ivoire), Mamou (Guinea), Zinder (Niger), Gao (Mali) and Matam (Senegal). 8 = Littoral (Benin), Est (Burkina Faso), Ouest (Cote d'Ivoire), N'zéréko (Guinea), Niamey (Niger), Kidal (Mali) and Saint‐Louis (Senegal). 9 = Mono (Benin), Hauts Bassins (Burkina Faso), Sud sans Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire), Bamako (Mali) and Tambacounda (Senegal). 10 = Quémé (Benin), Nord (Burkina Faso) Sud‐ouest (Cote d'Ivoire) and Thiès (Senegal). 11 = Plateau (Benin), Plateau Central (Burkina Faso) Ville d'Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire) and Zuguinchor (Senegal). 12 = Zou (Benin), Sahel (Burkina Faso). 13 = Sud‐Ouest (Burkina Faso).