Surviving the genocide: the impact of the Rwandan genocide on child mortality

Type Working Paper - Working Papers Series
Title Surviving the genocide: the impact of the Rwandan genocide on child mortality
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2011
URL http://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/80635/1/766629368.pdf
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to investigate the consequences of the Rwandan genocide on child mortality. Between April and July 1994 Rwanda experienced a tremendous wave of inter-ethnic violence that caused at least 500.000 deaths. Rwanda DHS 2000 data are used to test if exposure to the genocide has induced an increase in infant and child mortality. In particular, the consequences of both direct exposure to the genocide of children whose early life was disrupted by the genocide and indirect exposure of children whose mothers were pregnant during the genocide are analysed. Survival analysis techniques are applied to children who were infants (or were conceived) at the time of the genocide (the treated) and children who were infants before and after the genocide (the control groups), taking birth as the beginning of risk exposure, genocide as the treatment and death as failure. The objective of the analysis is to detect a potential increase in infant and child mortality, because of the genocide. This analysis would shed light on the mechanisms linking higher infant/child mortality to the genocide (not only direct violence, but also the collapse of health services provision etc.), thus allowing to draw some policy implications.

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