International Journal of Healthcare and Medical Sciences ISSN: 2414-2999 Vol. 1, No. 3, pp: 27-35, 2015 URL: http://arpgweb.com/?ic=journal&journal=13&info=aims * Corresponding Author 27 Academic Research Publishing Group Determinats of Child Mortality in Arba Minch Hospital Tilahun Ferede Asena * Department of Statistics, Arba Minch University, P.O. Box 25, Arba Minch, Ethiopia Demisse Dagne Department of Statistics, Arba Minch University, P.O. Box 25, Arba Minch, Ethiopia Ashenafi Senbeta Bedane School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Hawassa University, P.O. Box 05, Hawassa Ethiopia, 1. Introduction 1.1. Back Ground of the Study Child mortality was a factor that can be associated with the well-being of a population and taken as one of the development indicators of health and socioeconomic status and also indicates a life quality of a given population, as measured by life expectancy as Desta [1]. That is why reduction of infant and child mortality is a worldwide target and one of the most important key indexes among [2]. Hence its indication is a very important for evaluation and public health strategy. Thus it is an area that many researchers focus and that has attracted the attention of policy- makers and program implementer’s worldwide [3]. One of the most important targets of (MDGs) that introduced in 2000 at the United Nations Millennium Summit was reducing infant and under-five child mortality rates by two- thirds from the 1990 levels by 2015. In 2000 the Ethiopian government announce the intention by signed the millennium declaration committing to achieve the (MDGs) by 2015, many of which overlap with the 2015 national policy goals, for instance, in 2000 the Ethiopian administer prepared child survival strategy and implementation plan to reduce under-five mortality of 140/1000 live births to 67/1000 live births by 2015. Gamo Gofa zone is the second largest zone in SNNPR and the least developing zone with high fertility and rapid population growth rates. The population is estimated nearly 1.6 million [4]. A population is a predominantly rural and young society and the majority of the population has traditionally been concentrated in the highlands, with nearly 85 percent of the population living in rural areas while the rest lives in urban areas. Most of the scholars indicated that the decline of mortality especially infant and child mortality in Ethiopia. According to Kenny and Kenny [5] and Desta [1] the mortality rate of children in Ethiopia has been declining. The main reason for this as they noted is the dawn ward of agriculture, the increase of urbanization which accelerates the economic performance of the country. Child mortality, also known as under-5 mortality, refers to the death of infants and children under the age of five. In 2010, 7.6 million children under five died, down from 8.1 million in 2009 8.8 million in 2008, and 12.4 million in 1990. About half of child deaths occur in Africa. Approximately 60 countries make up 94% of under-five child deaths as [6]. Death is often preceded by illness (morbidity). As a result, the state of health of individuals and societies is the prime determinant of mortality differences. However, variations in the types and About 472,000 Ethiopian children die each year before their fifth birthday, which places Ethiopia sixth among the countries of the world in terms of the absolute number of child deaths. Yet, there are effective low cost interventions to prevent two-thirds of these deaths (NSCSE, 2005). Children in the third world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, usually suffer from more than one disease at a time. In most Countries of sub-Saharan Africa, the main causes of under five deaths are more or less the Abstract: This research identifies the important determinants of child mortality from 2012-2013 G.C in Arba Minch hospital. Logistic regression method was used to determine the impact of child mortality. The results show that among bio-demographic factors, gender of child, mother age and breast feeding are the important determinants for child mortality. However, breast feeding has a significant impact on child mortality. Among Socioeconomic determinants education, household size are the most important determinants for child mortality. Therefore policies should be revised and implement and health intervention program that focus on mothers and children health should be strong to achieve the Millennium Development Goals of child mortality in the remaining years. Keywords: Child mortality; Bio-demographic factors; socioeconomic factors; Arba Minch hospital.