West Africa Coastal Vulnerability Mapping: Demographic and Health Survey Data Sets

While the maternal education levels are comparable across countries, owing to different underlying indicators, the household wealth index is not. Education can directly influence risk perception, skills and knowledge and indirectly reduce poverty, improve health, and promote access to information and resources.

When facing natural hazards or climate risks, educated individuals, households, and societies are assumed to be more empowered and more adaptive in their response to, preparation for, and recovery from disasters. Education is a key background indicator that helps contextualize a country's health and development situation. The household wealth index is a composite measure of a household's cumulative living standard.