Trends and Disparities in Infant and Child Mortality in Nigeria Using Pooled 2003 and 2008 Demographic and Health Survey Data

We analyze infant and under-5 mortality trends in Nigeria usingdata from the demographic and health surveys (DHS) of 2003 and 2008. We use pooled datato enable us carry out logistic regression analysis at the state level and allow forrobustness of our results. Our analysis shows wide disparities in both infant andunder-5 mortality rates in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria and the 36 states andthe Federal Capital Territory Abuja. Furthermore, the results show highly significantdifferences in infant and under-5 mortality rates among the six geopolitical zones andamong the 36 states of Nigeria. Our result shows that urban advantage over rural areasin under-5 mortality rate only exist among the richest quintiles in Nigeria. We find noevidence of statistically significant difference between the urban poorest and poorerquintiles and the rural poorest and poorer quintiles in both infant and under-5mortality in Nigeria. We find wealth, educational attainment of the mother, the use ofhealth facility, religion, gender of a child, and number of births in the last 3 yearsto be highly correlated with infant and under-5 mortality in Nigeria. Both infant andunder-5 mortality rates declined between 2003 and 2008 in Nigeria