Page 1 of 10
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at
http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
e-ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 02 Issue 8
August 2016
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 398
Significance of Some Indicators of Under-Five Years
Mortality in Nigeria
1Ogunsanya B.G.; 2Adewunmi Olusola A.; 3Olagbegi Moses
1,2,3Department of Statistics & Mathematics Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Ogun State,
Nigeria.
1
ogunsanya.busuyi@mapoly.edu.ng;
2
dokunsola@yahoo.com ;
3
olagbegi12@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
This study examines the level and
determinant of under-five mortality in remote
Area of Ikorodu Local Government, Lagos state,
Nigeria. The survey was carried out through
self-administered questionnaires on selected 200
respondents. A multiple stage sampling was
used to select the eligible respondent. 4 wards
were selected at random from the 7 wards at
Ikorodu Local Government Area. Thereafter
four streets were randomly picked at random
from each of these houses were selected on each
street using systematic random sampling method
with the interval once a house is chosen. A
house hold was selected randomly from a house
that has more than one household. In any
polygamous household the respondent were
chosen among the wives by lettering method.
Data collected was analysed electronically,
using SPSS 21.0. The analysis revealed that
eighteen (18) of the twenty four (24) indicators
paired under study were significantly correlated
while twenty three (23) of the twenty six (26)
indicators paired were found to be significant
indicators of under five years mortality in
Nigeria.
Keywords: Indicators, Mortality, Nigeria,
Significance, Under Five, Years.
INTRODUCTION
Mortality rate is a measure of the
number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific
cause) in some population, scaled to the size of
that population per unit time. Mortality rate is
typically expressed in units of deaths per 1000
individuals per year, in that entire population, or
0.95% out of the total. It is distinct from
morbidity rate, which refers to the number of
individuals in poor health during a given time
period (the prevalence rate) or the number who
currently have that diseases (the incidence rate),
scaled to size of the population.
A condition such as tuberculosis can
cause morbidity and mortality (disease and
death). A mortality rate is a death rate. There are
a number of different types of mortality rates
such as:
The foetal mortality rate: The ratio of
foetal deaths to the sum infant mortality
rate.
The maternal mortality rate: The number
of maternal deaths related to child
bearing divided by the number of live
births or by the number of live births.
There has been increasing interest in
measuring under-five mortality as a health
indicator and as a critical measure of human
development. In countries with complete vital
registration system that capture all birth and
deaths under-five, mortality can be directly
calculated. In the absence of a complete vital
registration system however, child mortality
must be estimated using surveys that ask women
to report the births and death of their children.
Two survey methods exist for capturing these
information: Summary Birth History and
Complete Birth History. A summary birth
history requires a minimum of only two
questions: how many live births has each mother
had and how many of them have survived.
Indirect methods are then applied using the
information from these two questions and the
age of the mothers to estimate under-five
mortality going back in time prior to the survey.
Page 2 of 10
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at
http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
e-ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 02 Issue 8
August 2016
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 399
Estimates generated from complete birth
histories are review as the most accurate when
survey are required to estimate under-Five
mortality especially for most recent time period.
However, it is much more costly and labour
intensive to collect these detailed data especially
for the purpose of generating small area
estimates.
The main tenets of the fourth and fifth
Millennium Development Goal (MDG 4 and 5)
are to reduce under-five mortality rate and
improvement in maternal health which by
implication increases the chance of child
survival. Child mortality is a fundamental
measurement of a country’s level of socio- economic development as well as the quality of
life especially of the mothers. Under-five
mortality rate (5q0) represents the probability of
a child who survives to age one, dying between
age one and age five (Adlakha & Suchindra,
1984; National Population Commission and ICF
Macro, 2009; World Health Organisation
(WHO), 2011). Almost half of the child
mortality (42%) in the world occurs in Africa
and about 25,000 under-five children that die
each day are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa
and South Asia (WHO, 2011). Under-five
mortality rate (U5MR) is generally 29 times
higher in developing nations compared to
developed countries (Black & Liu, 2012;
Gambrah & Adzadu, 2013; Marx, Coles,
Prysones-Jones, Johnson, Augustin, Mackay,
Bery, Hammond, Nigmann, Sommerfelt et al,
2005). Globally, under-five mortality has
dropped significantly by almost 45 percent
between 2009 and 2011 but this progress is not
the reality for all countries. Despite much
progress in advanced countries, Nigeria has
failed to make significant progress in checking
the rising mortality rate among the under-five.
Currently, about half of the world’s under-five
deaths occur in Nigeria, India, Congo, Pakistan
and China (National Bureau of Statistics (NBS),
2011; World Bank, 2013).
Statistics revealed that up to 20 per cent of
child deaths in sub-Saharan Africa still occur in
Nigeria. Also, the Multiple Indicator Cluster
Survey (MICS4) report indicated that under-five
mortality in Nigeria increased from 138 per
1,000 live births in 2007 to 158 per 1,000 live
births in 2011 (National Bureau of Statistics
(NBS), 2011; World Bank, 2013).
Under-five mortality rates within Africa
also vary. In some countries, one-quarter to one- third of children die before reaching the age of
five. Also, within the under-five age group, there
are specific periods of increased vulnerability.
For instance, 60 percent of under-five mortality
can be attributed to deaths that occur during the
first year of life, of which the first 24 hours of
life is the most vulnerable period, followed by
the first week and then the first month (Marx et
al, 2005). Among the suspected factors that have
contributed to drastic reduction of under-5
mortality in advanced economies include but not
limited to improvement in socio-economic and
environmental conditions and strategic
implementation of child survival interventions
(Finlay, Özaltin & Canning, 2011; Kyei, 2011;
United Nations Children’s Fund, 2010, 2011,
2012).
Child mortality can be associated with
two categories of acquired ailments: one is a
heavy load of infectious diseases and the other,
those diseases that are caused by inadequate
nutrition (Cooper, Hickson, Mitchel, Edwards,
Thapa & Ray, 1999; Katona & Katona-Apte,
2008). Socio-economic factors including
immunizations, exclusive breastfeeding and the
adoption and usage of insecticide-treated nets
have been revealed by several studies have
strong predictors of child mortality especially in
the developing countries. Included among these
proximate determinants are the risk of morbidity
and mortality, education of mother, sanitation
facilities, access to safe drinking water and
maternal and child health care services (Uddin,
Hossain & Ullah, 2008). However, despite these
known factors, under-5 mortality rate in sub- Saharan Africa is abysmally far above the
prevalent rate in other countries of the world.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
Page 3 of 10
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at
http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
e-ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 02 Issue 8
August 2016
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 400
The purpose of this study is to examine the level
and determinant of under five mortality in
remote Area of Ikorodu Local Government,
Lagos state, Nigeria.
The specific objectives are:
1. Identification of socio-economic health
and behavioral factors affecting under-five
mortality in remote area of Ikorodu local
government.
2. Determining the significance of selected
mortality indicators.
3. Determining the correlation significance
of the selected mortality indicators.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study covers some selected
indicators of under-five years mortality in
Nigeria. The indicators were correlated and put
to paired test to achieve the set purpose.
The study survey was carried out
through self administered questionnaires on
selected respondent. A multiple stage sampling
was used to select the eligible 200 respondents.
Four (4) wards were selected at random from the
7 wards at Ikorodu Local Government (case
study) Area. Thereafter four streets were
randomly picked at random from each of these
houses were selected on each street using
systematic random sampling method with the
interval once a house is chosen. A house hold
was selected randomly from a house that has
more than one household. In any polygamous
household the respondent were chosen among
the wives by lettering method.
LITERATURE REVIEW
According to UNICEF
(http://www.unicef.org/nigeria/children_1926.ht
ml), every single day, Nigeria loses about 2,300
under-five year olds and 145 women of
childbearing age. This makes the country the
second largest contributor to the under–five and
maternal mortality rate in the world.
Underneath the statistics lies the pain of
human tragedy, for thousands of families who
have lost their children. Even more devastating
is the knowledge that, according to recent
research, essential interventions reaching women
and babies on time would have averted most of
these deaths.
Although analyses of recent trends show
that the country is making progress in cutting
down infant and under-five mortality rates, the
pace still remains too slow to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals of reducing
child mortality by a third by 2015.
Preventable or treatable infectious
diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea,
measles and HIV/AIDS account for more than
70 per cent of the estimated one million under- five deaths in Nigeria.
Malnutrition is the underlying cause of
morbidity and mortality of a large proportion of
children under-5 in Nigeria. It accounts for more
than 50 per cent of deaths of children in this age
bracket.
The deaths of newborn babies in Nigeria
represent a quarter of the total number of deaths
of children under-five. The majority of these
occur within the first week of life, mainly due to
complications during pregnancy and delivery
reflecting the intimate link between newborn
survival and the quality of maternal care. Main
causes of neonatal deaths are birth asphyxia,
severe infection including tetanus and premature
birth.
Similarly, a woman’s chance of dying
from pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria is 1 in
13. Although many of these deaths are
preventable, the coverage and quality of health
care services in Nigeria continue to fail women
and children. Presently, less than 20 per cent of
health facilities offer emergency obstetric care
and only 35 per cent of deliveries are attended
by skilled birth attendants.
This shows the close relationship
between the well being of the mother and the
child, and justifies the need to integrate
maternal, newborn and child health
interventions.
It is important to note that wide regional
disparities exist in child health indicators with
the North-East and North-West geopolitical
zones of the country having the worst child
survival figures.
