When It Rains: The Dual Impact of Rainfall on Child Survival in Rural Senegal

We analyze how rainfall anomalies affect child survival in semiarid rural Senegal. The study uses 50,000 child records over four decades from the Niakhar HDSS, the oldest in Africa. Past rain shortfalls raise child mortality while current rainfall shocks matter less. Rainfall seasonality shapes children's vulnerability to rainfall anomalies. Food scarcity and disease exposure jointly drive these mortality effects.