The relationship between the level of household sanitation and child mortality: an examination of Ghanaian data

This paper examines the relationship between sanitation and the risk of child mortality in Ghana in 1971. In addition to using the presence or absence of toilet and water facilities in the home as an indicator of sanitation, combinations of the types of toilet or water facilities and the education of the mother are used. The results of the analysis show that although better facilities for example, piped water, water closets or private latrines) are often associated with lower child mortality, the advantages of better sanitation facilities are severely limited when mothers are not educated. Providing as little as one to six years of formal education results in considerable reductions in child mortality risks even among mothers using poor water and toilet facilities, and the combination of some education and adequate facilities appears to reduce substantially the risk of death.