Abstract

While many scholars argue that education plays a significant role in promoting human capital development evidence suggest that South Africa's human capital index is relatively lower than other countries (0.4 in 2020) as the nation is still making strides in boosting its childhood environment and this is seen in its under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) which has increased enormously between 2020 and 2022 from 29 to 40 deaths per 1000 live births. The study examined the impact of human capital development on U5MR in South Africa using time series data spanning from 1994 to 2023. The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method was utilized to investigate the long run correlation between U5MR and explanatory variables, namely female literacy (FL), health access and quality (HAQ), child immunization rate (CIR), access to improved sanitation and clean water (ISW) and prevalence of HIV/AIDS (POH) in South Africa. The analysis reveals that FL, HAQ and CIR have an insignificant correlation with U5MR. Furthermore, the analysis shows that there exists a positive correlation between ISW and U5MR and a negative correlation between POH and U5MR in the nation. This study, therefore, recommends the "start before conception and continue through the postpartum period" strategies by the health facilities to reduce under-5 mortality in local and international contexts.

DOI: doi.org/10.63721/25JESD0107

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