Determinants of Child Mortality in Rural Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the determinants of child mortality in rural Nigeria employing the 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) data. Data were analyzed using Descriptive Statistics and the Logit regression model. The result of analysis showed that the average age of the respondents at first birth is 19 years; while more than half of them had no formal education, and about three-fifths had less than 24 months birth interval. Secondary and higher education of mother, age of mother at first birth, place of delivery, type of birth, child ever breastfed, sex of child, were among the significant factors influencing child mortality in rural Nigeria. Maternal education, access to adequate health care (especially for pregnant women and children under five years) and increased awareness of benefits of breastfeeding were identified as the key factors to reducing child mortality in rural Nigeria.