Malawi 2015-16

school. The attendance rate declines rapidly from age 14 to 24, and in this age group, the ASARs are
higher for males than females.
2.10 CHILD FUNCTIONING AND DISABILITY
The 2015-16 MDHS household questionnaire included questions on the functioning and disability among
the usual resident children age 2-17. The questions were adapted from a module developed as a part of
Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), a UNICEF-supported household survey programme
(http://mics.unicef.org/surveys). The respondents to the household questionnaire were asked questions
about the specific functioning problems or disability of children. The questions included speech and
language, hearing, vision, learning (cognition and intellectual development), mobility and motor skills,
emotions, and behaviours.
Results displayed in Table 2.14.1 indicate that 29% of children age 2-9 have at least one reported
functioning problem or disability. One in five (21%) children age 2 cannot name at least one object such as
an animal, toy, cup, or spoon, while 5% of children age 3-9 were reported to have speech that was different
from normal.
Table 2.14.2 presents the percentage of children 10-17 with reported specific functioning problems or
disability. Difficulty either hearing (5%) or remembering or concentrating (6%) among children age 10-17
were the two most commonly reported problems.
LIST OF TABLES
For more information on household population and housing characteristics, see the following tables:
• Table 2.1 Household drinking water
• Table 2.2 Availability of water
• Table 2.3 Household sanitation facilities
• Table 2.4 Household characteristics
• Table 2.5 Wealth quintiles
• Table 2.6 Household possessions
• Table 2.7 Hand washing
• Table 2.8 Household population by age, sex, and residence
• Table 2.9 Household composition
• Table 2.10.1 Birth registration of children under age 5
• Table 2.10.2 Place of birth registration of children under age 5
• Table 2.11 Children’s living arrangements and orphanhood
• Table 2.12.1 Educational attainment of the female household population
• Table 2.12.2 Educational attainment of the male household population
• Table 2.13 School attendance ratios
• Table 2.14.1 Child functioning and disability: Children age 2-9
• Table 2.14.2 Child functioning and disability: Children age 10-17
Housing Characteristics and Household Population • 17