Levels, Trends and Determinants of Infant Mortality in Nigeria: An Analysis using the Logistic Regression Model

Abstract

This paper presents a statistical analysis of the levels, trends and determinants of infant mortality in Nigeria using the logistic regression model. Infant mortality data for each of the five years preceding the 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018 Nigeria Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) was retrieved and used for the analysis. Findings from the study revealed that infant mortality rates decline have stagnated in the five year period prior to the 2018 survey with an Annual Rate of Reduction (ARR) of 0% relative to an initial ARR of 5.7% between 2003 and 2008. The ARR of 2.039% over the 15 year period spanning 2003 to 2018 suggests that the rate of infant mortality reduction is slow. This study also showed that maternal characteristics such as age and educational levels as well as cultural practises like use of clean water and toilet facilities were statistically significant determinants of infant mortality in Nigeria with P-values < 0.05 across each of the survey years.

Community and individual level determinants of infant mortality in rural Ethiopia using data from 2016 Ethiopian demographic and health survey

“…Women who drank from an unimproved source had a greater risk of infant death than women who drank from a safe and protected source. This finding is in line with studies done in Bangladesh 15 , Pakistan 44 and Nigeria 45 . This could be because protected sources of drinking water are less likely to be polluted and less likely to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases like infections and cholera.…”

“…Infants born into families without access to a latrine died at a higher rate than those born into families with superior latrine facilities. It is supported by other findings in Pakistan 44 and Nigeria 45 . This may be because access to modern sanitation facilities such as flush toilets is reducing diarrhea prevalence and ultimately decreasing the infant deaths 23 .…”