Does Mutual Assistance Contribute to Child Survival? Comparative Analysis of Factors Influencing Child Mortality in 3 Areas of Tanzania

ThisChild mortality chapterTanzania analyses the regional differences of factors influencing child survival/death and the contributionContribution of mutual assistanceMutual assistance and careCare for child survival. Analysis of questionnaire interviews in three villagesVillage confirmed the influences of place and assistance in birthBirth, maternalmaternal child careCare knowledgeKnowledge and educationEducation, and food securityFood security, indicating that mutual assistanceMutual assistance for foodFood contributed to child survival. However, there were differences in mutual assistanceMutual assistance and careCare among geographic areas. In ChaaniChaani Masingini villageVillage, ZanzibarZanzibar, food sharingFood sharing was more common, and careCare provided by familyFamily membersFamily member and women contributed to child survival. Conversely, in the agropastoralagropastoral MajelekoMajeleko villageVillage, DodomaRegions regionDodoma region, children in larger familiesFamily with more women had a higher chance of death. A substantial number of children did not have access to food sharingFood sharing among relativesRelatives and neighborsNeighbors, thus increasing their risk of death. In MchingaMchinga II villageVillage, LindiRegions regionLindi region, the use of sorghumSorghum for children’s foodFood contributed to child survival; however, sorghumSorghum was not utilized in MajelekoMajeleko. In MchingaMchinga, mothersMother who received moneyMoney for children’s medicinemedicine experienced higher incidences of child death because the support arrived too late. Regional differences in the inclusiveness of mutual assistanceMutual assistance and careCare created diversity in their contributionContribution to child survival.