My Mother's Education or my Death

Education levels in Burkina Faso, especially those of women, remain low, despite the efforts by policy makers and international organisations in trying to implement goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, it is observed that there are difficulties in arriving at the economic and social empowerment of women. Indeed, in Burkina Faso the unemployment rate of women has been at an average of 6% over the past five years, which is relatively high and way above the global average of unemployment rates (World Bank, 2021). Also, according to the African Development Bank, 65.4% of women in Burkina Faso work in the informal sector. Equally, Burkina Fasos rates of mortality for children are relatively high; they were at 56.68 per 1000 for infant mortality and 26.98 per 1000 for neonatal mortality, and 93.96 per 1000 for child mortality over the period 2015-2019. These rates remain higher than the sub-Saharan average. It is, therefore evident that Burkina Fasos low level of womens education level and low levels of womens empowerment, are related to a high rate of child mortality in the country; This study aims to examine the impact of the education of mothers on mortality through a focus on womens economic empowerment.