School education for mothers: How much is needed to promote child survival and health?

Abstract

The current study investigates whether a specific threshold level of school education for mothers is necessary to reduce under-five mortality (U5MR) and stunting significantly. This study utilized data from 153 countries and territories for the years 2000–2019, sourced from the Global Burden of Disease 2019, the 2023 Joint Malnutrition Estimates, and the 2023 United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. A binary categorisation was used for stunting and U5MR. Maternal education was measured as the number of years of schooling completed by mothers and was categorized into four levels. We employed spline regression and hierarchical linear modelling with maternal education as the predictor for the two child outcomes. Between 2000 and 2019: (i) the mean number of years of maternal education increased from 6.8 to 9.2; (ii) U5MR decreased from 66.64 deaths per 1000 live births to 32.56; and (iii) stunting prevalence decreased from 26.49 % to 18.14 %. Significant decreases in the predicted probabilities of both child outcomes were observed when mothers had 0–5 and 6–8 years of education, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Eight or nine years of schooling, or mothers’ completion of lower-secondary education, were required to achieve globally agreed-upon goals for U5MR and stunting. The quantity of maternal education required to observe decreases in both outcomes increased between 2000 and 2009 and 2010–2019. The link between maternal education and child outcomes also varied by region and country income level, underscoring the importance of context in child survival and health. In conclusion, lower-secondary education equips today’s girls—the mothers of tomorrow—with essential human, social, and cultural capital to address global child health challenges sustainably.