Parental migration & child mortality in rural South Africa

Levels of adult temporary out-migration are very high in rural South African communities as men and women migrate to pursue employment and education opportunities. The rural home is often considered to be the preferred place for children to grow up, and children are commonly ‘left behind’ in the care of extended family when parents migrate. While the economic benefits of migration for sending households are well-acknowledged, much less is known about the impact of parental absence on the health and welfare of ‘left behind’ children. This paper examines the relationship between parental migration and child mortality using detailed longitudinal data from South Africa’s two rural demographic surveillance systems. Discrete time event history modelling is employed to investigate the relationship between mortality in the first five years of life and maternal and paternal migration status, after controlling for individual, household and community level factors. By comparing results for the two study sites, it is possible to examine similarities and differences in the relationships between parental migration and child mortality in contrasting social and geographical contexts