Infant and Child Mortality in Nigeria: An Impact Analysis

Abstract

The first five years of life are the most crucial to the physical and intellectual development of children and can determine their potential to learn and thrive for a life time. That is why it is specifically stated as one of the goals of the MDGs to reduce infant mortality by two thirds by 2015. Although there has been a substantial reduction in infant and child mortality rates in most developing countries in the recent past, it still remains a major public health issue in Sub-Saharan Africa, with special reference to Nigeria; the giant of Africa. The main purpose of this study is to ascertain the influencing factors on infant and child mortality in Nigeria. Survey data from the National Health Demographic Survey have been used to examine the patterns of infant and child of mortality. The simple regression estimation technique was employed to investigate the effects of some selected socio-economic variables on infant and child mortality. The selected variables include: the educational attainment of mothers, place of delivery, women’s status respecting decision making in the house which are; final Say on Mother's Health Care, final Say on Making Large Household Purchases, final Say on Making Household Purchases for Daily Needs, final Say on Visits to Family or Relatives, final Say on Deciding What to do With Money Husbands Earns. The study reveals that their exist positive linear association between infant and child mortality and each of the variables serving as indicators for women’s status. This study was able to find out that place of delivery plays a crucial role, as better places of deliveries significantly reduce infant and child mortality in Nigeria. Also that higher level of educational attainment has negative impact on infant and child mortality.