Economic and Social Determinants of Infant Under-Five Years’ Mortality in Cameroon

: Infant mortality remains a major international public health problem. The situation in sub-Saharan Africa is particularly worrying, as children are at high risk of dying before their fifth birthday. This study analyses the economic and social determinants of infant mortality in Cameroon using a cross-sectional study design. A nationwide stratified, two-stage sampling was used to sample 9,733 children and their respective mothers. A logistic regression model was used for both bivariate and multivariate analysis with a statistically significant level of p<0.05. The children were predominantly male, with a sex ratio of 1.03. Infant mortality was associated with a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in economic and social characteristics of the child and its mother, such as: age of the child between 25 and 60 months, second or higher birth order, average birth weight of the child, number of 2 to 3 children in the household, age of the mother, domestic violence against the mother, non-use of contraception by the mother, mothers of children residing in the North, Far-North, East and North West regions of the country. On the other hand, infant mortality was associated with a statistically non-significant difference (p>0.05) in economic and social characteristics, namely: child sex, age between 13 and 24 months, low and high child weights at birth, mother's level of education, marital status, mother's employment, religion, level of economic well-being, access to media, use of modern contraception, prenatal consultations in a health center, residence in an urban area, mothers resident in other regions of the country. The elimination of preventable deaths among children under 5 five years old by 2030 will depend on the extent to which economic and social determinants are taken into account in the public policies of resource-limited countries like Cameroon.