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Abstract
The importance of female education in decreasing childhood malnutrition has been widely accepted by international organizations seeking to promote education and health in developing countries. Many of the goals created to increase the quality and access of education in developing nations, however, have repeatedly not been met, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where average enrollment rates remain low and childhood malnutrition has failed to significantly decline. This paper seeks to explain why two African countries with low economic resources, Congo and Mali, show variations in their level of childhood malnutrition. The most important factors determining childhood malnutrition in Mali and Congo appear to be the amount of public expenditures on education and whether or not the educational system requires school fees.