The Impact of Early Childhood Malaria Risk on the Probability of School Delay in Ghana

Abstract

Though many studies indicate that when students sicken with malaria, school outcomes worsen, only a few studies address the long-term effect of the disease on educational attainment. The overall aim of this paper is to determine whether infection with malaria before school age negatively impacts school progression among primary and secondary school students in Ghana. I used data from the 2012/2013 Ghana Living Standards Survey as well as regional malaria prevalence and incidence rates from the Malaria Atlas Project to conduct regression analyses on the relationship between early childhood malaria risk and the probability of school delay (here defined as dropping out of school or staying behind a grade). I found that there is a positive, statistically significant relationship between early childhood malaria risk and the probability of delay. As Ghana continues to steadily make economic progress and push for educational opportunity, the country should consider the long-term effects of malaria on the present and future labor force of the country.