International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | February 2016 | Vol 4 | Issue 2 Page 356 International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences Albasheer OB. Int J Res Med Sci. 2016 Feb;4(2):356-360 www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012 Research Article Socioeconomic determinants of infant and under - five mortality, in wad-madani pediatric teaching hospital- Gezira State, Sudan Osama B. Albasheer* INTRODUCTION Infant and child mortality rates are often used as indicators of the socioeconomic development of a country. Infants and children under five are more than any other age group of population; they depend heavily on the socioeconomic status of their families for survival. Thus, the level of infant and child mortality would present a measure of how well society meets the needs of its people. 1 According to Mosley and Chen at least 97% of newborn infant should be expected to survive the first five years of live. Reduction of this survival probability could be caused by variation in social, economic and environmental factors. They observed a set of 14 intermediate variables grouped into five factors, environmental factors, nutrient availability factor, injury factors, personal illness control factors and maternal factors, such as age of the mother at birth, birth survival and parity. 2 The level of infant and under five mortality has declined during the last two decades. Infant mortality rate has declined from 82 per 1000 live birth during the late 1960s and early 1970s to 70 per 1000 live birth during the early 1990s. under five mortality has declined during the same period from 147 per 1000 live birth to 113 per 1000 live birth. 3 Despite this decline, infant and child mortality rates in Sudan are still among the highest in the world. ABSTRACT Background: Infant and child mortality constitute the highest rate in the developing world, compared to the mortality of other age groups. Sudan is one of the countries were infant and children are under risk. This study was done in Wad-Madani Pediatric Teaching Hospital, to determine the association between the socio-economic factors and basic life services differences and high level of infant and under- five mortality. Methods: The study utilized cross sectional, hospital based study. The data were collected by using structured questionnaire addressed to 96 mothers in their reproductive age (15- 49 years), experienced infant and under- five death in the hospital in the study period. The data were analyzed descriptively and then by statistical test based on chi- squire conducted to determine the relationship between death of infant and children and socio- economic factors. Results: Our study revealed, differences in mortality levels are related to community differences and differences in living condition. Infant mortality was higher than child mortality. Indicators like birth order, birth interval, mother education, and distance for health services, have great impacts on infant and under- five mortality. Conclusions: The study recommended that there is a real need to continue sensitizing the public about dangers associated with early child bearing, short birth interval, and hence stress upon family planning. Increasing level of education of the parents was recommended for further utilization of health services, good antenatal care, and self learning about family planning, nutrition during pregnancy and breast feeding. Keywords: Infant mortality, Under- five mortality, Socioeconomic factors, Mother education, Wad-madani, Sudan Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Jazan University, KSA Received: 07 December 2015 Revised: 09 December 2015 Accepted: 06 January 2016 *Correspondence: Dr. Osama B. Albasheer, E-mail: drosama802@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20160283