Faustin Habyarimana

Determinants of Poverty of Households in Rwanda: An Application of Quantile Regression

Abstract Eradication of poverty is the main objective of most societies and policy makers, but developing a perfect or accurate poverty assessment tool to target poor households, in most cases, is a challenge for applied policy research. In this paper, the principal component analysis was first used to create an asset index for each household and thereafter the quantile regression model was used to identify the determinants of poverty of households in Rwanda. The characteristics of households as well as household heads were considered. Data from the Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (2010) was used as application. The findings showed that education level, gender and age of household head, province, size of the household and place of residence were significant predictors of poverty of households in Rwanda. The quantile regression model allowed the researchers to study the impact of predictors on different desired quantiles of the asset index, and thus to get a complete picture of the relationship between the asset index and predictor variables.

Analysis of demographic and health survey to measure poverty of household in Rwanda

The use of the asset index in poverty targeting is a modern technique. We used the principal component analysis (PCA) technique in order to create the asset index. Then the asset index was used to assess the socio-economic status (SES) of households. The reliability of the index was tested firstly by ascertaining whether the index was internally coherent, secondly the robustness was tested using the sub-indices such as housing infrastructure and ownership. The methodology is applied and demonstrated using the household survey data in Rwanda. The Rwanda data analysis showed that the age of household head, education level of the household head, gender of the household head, place of residence, the province of household head and size of the household (number of household members) were the significant predictors of poverty of the household in Rwanda

The Analysis of Socio-Economic and Demographic Factors Associated with Contraceptive Use Among Married Women of Reproductive Age in Rwanda

RESEARCH ARTICLE The Analysis of Socio-Economic and Demographic Factors Associated with Contraceptive Use Among Married Women of Reproductive Age in Rwanda Faustin Habyarimana and Shaun Ramroop School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, University of Kwazulu, Natal, Pietermaritzburg, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa College of Education, University of Rwanda, PO Box 5039, Kigali, Rwanda

Structured Spatial Modeling and Mapping of Domestic Violence Against Women of Reproductive Age in Rwanda

The main objective of this study was to assess the risk factors and spatial correlates of domestic violence against women of reproductive age in Rwanda. A structured spatial approach was used to account for the nonlinear nature of some covariates and the spatial variability on domestic violence. The nonlinear effect was modeled through second-order random walk, and the structured spatial effect was modeled through Gaussian Markov Random Fields specified as an intrinsic conditional autoregressive model. The data from the Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey 2014/2015 were used as an application. The findings of this study revealed that the risk factors of domestic violence against women are the wealth quintile of the household, the size of the household, the husband or partners age, the husband or partners level of education, ownership of the house, polygamy, the alcohol consumption status of the husband or partner, the womans perception of wife-beating attitude, and the use of contraceptive methods. The study also highlighted the significant spatial variation of domestic violence against women at district level.

Determinants of Domestic Violence in Women of Reproductive Age in Rwanda

Domestic violence is a global public health problem. It is prevalent in both the developed world and developing countries. The objective of this study is to identify the factors that are associated with domestic violence against women of reproductive age in Rwanda. The data from the 2014/2015 Rwanda demographic and health survey were used. Generalized linear mixed model was used to account for random effects, overdispersion of residual and heterogeneity. The findings of this study revealed that wealth quintiles, education level of the husband or partner, polygamy, alcohol status of husband or partner, size of the family, number of sexual partners including the husband in the last 12 months, the province the victim lived in, the ownership of an asset in the form of a house or land and the societal attitude towards wife-beating, were the determinants of domestic violence in women of reproductive age. The findings of the risk factors in the current study can help the policy makers, public health workers and institutions in charge of gender monitoring in Rwanda to come up with effective strategies to reduce the domestic violence levels directed against women.

Spatial Analysis of Socio-Economic and Demographic Factors Associated with Contraceptive Use among Women of Childbearing Age in Rwanda

Contraceptive use is considered as essential for protecting women’s health and rights, influencing fertility and population growth, and helping to promote economic development. The main objective of this study was to analysis the factors and spatial correlates of contraceptive use among women of childbearing age. The 2015 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (RDHS) data were used to identify the factors associated with contraceptive use in Rwanda. A Bayesian geo-additive model was used in order to account for fixed effects, nonlinear effects, spatial and random effects inherent in the data. The overall prevalence of use of any contraceptive method among married women of childbearing age in Rwanda was 52.7%. A woman’s age, wealth quintile, level of education, working status, number of living children, and exposure to the media was found to increase contraceptive use. The findings from the study also found disparities in contraceptive use at provincial and district level, where prevalence was higher in districts of Northern provinces and lower in districts of western provinces. The findings of this study suggest that exposure to information on contraceptive use in health centres, empowerment of women to access quality contraceptive-use services and religions to play an important role in explaining and informing their adherents on the importance of using a contraceptive method.

Determinants of factors associated with anemia among children under five years in Lesotho

Context : Anaemia is a global public health problem which occurs mostly in developing countries. The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence and risk factors associated with anaemia among children under five years of age in Lesotho. Data and method : The logistic regression model was used to analyse the Lesotho Demographic and Health Survey data for 2009 and 2014. Findings : The results from the 2009 data set revealed that the nutritional (stunting) status of child, child’s age and mother’s anaemia status were the risk factors associated to childhood anaemia, whereas the findings from the 2014 data set showed that the nutritional status of child, whether the child had a fever in the last two weeks prior to the survey, child’s age and mother’s body mass index were risk factors associated with anaemia among children under five years. Conclusion: There is a need to improve the child health at an early age and nutritional status.

Structured Additive Quantile Regression for Assessing the Determinants of Childhood Anemia in Rwanda

Childhood anemia is among the most significant health problems faced by public health departments in developing countries. This study aims at assessing the determinants and possible spatial effects associated with childhood anemia in Rwanda. The 2014/2015 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (RDHS) data was used. The analysis was done using the structured spatial additive quantile regression model. The findings of this study revealed that the child’s age; the duration of breastfeeding; gender of the child; the nutritional status of the child (whether underweight and/or wasting); whether the child had a fever; had a cough in the two weeks prior to the survey or not; whether the child received vitamin A supplementation in the six weeks before the survey or not; the household wealth index; literacy of the mother; mother’s anemia status; mother’s age at the birth are all significant factors associated with childhood anemia in Rwanda. Furthermore, significant structured spatial location effects on childhood anemia was found.

Spatial Distribution of Determinants of Malnutrition of Children under Five Years in Rwanda: SimultaneousMeasurement of Three Anthropometric Indices

Abstract The main objective of this paper was to identify the risk factors of malnutrition among children under five years in Rwanda and produce the maps of prevalence of joint distribution of stunting, underweight and wasting. Each of these anthropometric indicators is categorized as malnourished (z-score <-2.0) and nourished (zscore >-20). The spatial multivariate generalized linear mixed model is used to simultaneously identify the spatial distribution of risk factors of malnutrition of the children under five years. The 2010 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey data was used in the analysis. The paper revealed that the age of child, birth order, gender of child, birth weight, fever, mother’s education level, mother’s age at the birth, body mass index, mother’s knowledge on nutrition, anemia, province, source of drinking water, multiple birth, and wealth index have significant effects on malnutrition status of the children under five years of age in Rwanda.

Key determinants of malnutrition of children under five years of age in Rwanda: Simultaneous measurement of three anthropometric indices

Malnutrition of children is a serious problem to the public health, most especially in developing countries. Based on Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey Data, the joint model of a multivariate generalized linear mixed model is used to simultaneously identify the determinants of malnutrition of children under five years of age in Rwanda using height-for-age, weight-for-age and weight-for-height. Each anthropometric index has been categorized as malnourished (Z-score value <-2.0) and nourished (Z-score value . The study found that the age of the child, gender of the child, birth weights, mother’s knowledge of nutrition, birth order, incidence of recent fever, multiple births, education level of the mother, age of the mother at childbirth, body mass index, prevalence of anemia, province, source of drinking water and wealth quintiles are the key determinants of malnutrition of children under five years of age in Rwanda. A positive correlation between stunting and underweight and wasting and underweight was found. Therefore this study suggests that when eradicating malnutrition of children under five years of age, all three types of malnutrition should be corrected. It also suggests strengthening the policy on educating people in planning the number of children born to them