Study variables

The maternal level variables in this study included age in years (15–19,20–24…45–49), place of residence (urban vs rural), geographical region, religion (Christianity, Islam and other religious beliefs), level of education (no formal education, primary, secondary and higher), wealth index (poorest, poorer, middle, richer, richest), age at first birth, marital status (currently married/in union vs not currently married), employment status (currently working or not). The child characteristics were birth type (singleton or multiple), sex of the child (male or female), place of delivery (home vs health facility), mode of delivery (caesarean section or not caesarean section), size of the child (large, average, small), preceding birth interval (<18, 18–24 and >24 months) and birth order (1–4 vs 5 and above). The model by Moseley [16] on systematic conceptual framework was used in the selection of explanatory factors in this study. Here, our study utilized this conceptual framework as the basis for identifying vital risk factors for under-five mortality in sub-Sahara region.