Zambia Demographic and Health Survey 2001-2002 - Measure DHS

SUMMARY OF FINDINGSThe 2001-2002 Zambia Demographicand Health Survey (ZDHS) was carried out bythe Central Statistical Office and the CentralBoard of Health. It is a nationally representativesample of 7,658 women age 15-49 and 2,145men age 15-59. The principal objective of thesurvey was to provide data to policymakers andplanners on the population and health situationin Zambia. Most of the information collected inthe 2001-2002 ZDHS represents updated estimatesof basic demographic and health indicatorscovered in the 1992 ZDHS and 1996 ZDHSsurveys. Specifically, the 2001-2002 ZDHS collecteddetailed information on fertility and familyplanning, child mortality and maternal mortality,maternal and child health and nutritionalstatus, and knowledge, awareness and behaviourregarding HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmittedinfections. New features of the 2001-2002 ZDHS include the collection of informationon violence against women and testing ofindividuals for HIV and syphilis.FERTILITYSurvey results indicate that the total fertilityrate (TFR) in Zambia is 5.9. This meansthat at current fertility levels, the average Zambianwoman who is at the beginning of herchildbearing years will give birth to 5.9 childrenby the end of her reproductive period. Resultsfrom the 2001-2002 ZDHS show that fertility ishighest in Northern province (6.9 births perwoman) and lowest in Lusaka (4.3 births perwoman). Education has a marked effect on fertility,with uneducated women having three andone-half more births than women with at leastsome secondary education (7.4 births versus 3.9births).Zambia’s fertility continues to declinealthough comparatively slowly. The TFR hasdeclined from a level of 6.5 births per woman in1992 and 6.1 births per woman in 1996 to thecurrent level of 5.9. Despite the decline, fertilityin Zambia remains one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.A drop in urban childbearing is the principalreason for overall decline in fertility levels. Betweenthe 1992 and 2001-2002 surveys, the urban TFR fellby 1.5 births, from a rate of 5.8 to 4.3 births perwoman. In contrast, the rural TFR remained essentiallystable over this period (7.1 and 6.9 births perwoman, respectively). Women who have at leastsome secondary education experienced a steady declinein fertility, with the TFR for such womendropping by one birth over the period covered by thethree ZDHS surveys.The length of the interval between births influencesthe overall fertility level, as well as thehealth status of the mother and child. There is now anew international consensus that the optimal intervalbetween births is at least 36 months. In Zambia,41 percent of births occur at least 36 months after aprevious birth. Although 16 percent of births occurless than 24 months after a previous birth, this is animprovement from 1996 when almost one in fivebirths (19 percent) occurred less than two years aftera previous birth. The median birth interval is33 months, 3 months shorter than the “safe” birthinterval. This represents a one-month increase fromthe 1996 ZDHS median birth interval (32 months).Childbearing begins early in Zambia. By age18 almost half of women age 45-49 have had theirfirst birth. Most women typically become mothersbefore the age of 20, with 60 to 70 percent of womenin all age groups having given birth by that age. Themedian age at first birth for women age 25-49 is18.7 years. Three in ten teenage women (age 15-19)have begun childbearing, with 26 percent having hada child and 6 percent pregnant with their first child.A comparison of the data from the 1996 and2001-2002 ZDHS surveys indicates that there hasbeen an increase in the median duration of postpartumamenorrhoea from 11.5 months to 13.3 months.There has been little change in the median durationof sexual abstinence or insusceptibility to the risk ofpregnancy following childbirth.Summary of Findings | xxi