European Journal of Population
Volume 21, Issue 2-3, 2005, Pages 271-290

Child survival and fertility of refugees in Rwanda (Article)

Verwimp P. , van Bavel J.
  • a Poverty Research Unit at Sussex, German Institute of Economic Research in Berlin, Households in Conflict Network, Berlin, Germany
  • b Department of Sociology, Catholic University of Leuven, E. van Evenstraat 2, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium

Abstract

In the 1960s and 1990s, internal strife in Rwanda has caused a mass flow of refugees into neighbouring countries. This article explores the cumulated fertility of Rwandan refugee women and the survival of their children. To this end, we use a national survey conducted between 1999 and 2001 and covering 6,420 former refugee and non-refugee households. The findings support old-age security theories of reproductive behaviour: refugee women had higher fertility but their children had lower survival chances. Newborn girls suffered more than boys, suggesting that the usual sex differential in child survival observed in most populations changes under extreme living conditions. © Springer 2005.

Author Keywords

Rwanda Genocide Fertility control Infant and child mortality Refugee

Index Keywords

World Infant Mortality Africa refugee Sub-Saharan Africa fertility Central Africa Child Mortality Genocide survival Eastern Hemisphere Rwanda
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-22544467849&doi=10.1007%2fs10680-005-6856-1&partnerID=40&md5=8716a29ead7f46e21c5617972600644b
DOI: 10.1007/s10680-005-6856-1
ISSN: 01686577
Cited by: 29
Original Language: English