Under five mortality is an important target and indicator of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4, and
with barely one year to the target year of 2015, it needs to be treated with urgency. The study examines the
determinants of childhood mortality in Ghana in terms of the biomedical, individual and household
characteristics of mothers. We used secondary data extracted from the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health
Survey children’s data file. Statistical analysis was done with STATA version 11 using proportions and
stepwise logistic regression models to examine the relationship between the covariates and childhood mortality.
The study established that type of birth, duration of breastfeeding, religious affiliation and household size had
significant relationship with childhood mortality for the study period. Thus, children who were part of multiple
births; children who were never breastfed; children of traditional/spiritual mothers and children from small size
households were more likely to die before age five compared to their counterparts. Childhood mortality in
Ghana was influenced by some biomedical, individual and household factors for the study period. In this way,
the study reveals the crucial factors that should be dealt with, if Ghana will meet the target for the Millennium
Development Goal 4.