An Analysis of the Determining Factor of Child Malaria Mortality in Nigeria.

Abstract

Nigeria is still one of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa with the highest cases of child mortality and still far from the recommended 25 per 100 live births by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The study therefore set out to investigate the factors responsible for the causes of this high mortality rate, especially among children under five years of age. The study employed a modified VAR and Error correction model to determine the causes of child mortality in Nigeria using secondary data. The results from the study revealed that factors such as income, household behavior, female illiteracy and low physician density were statistically significant in determining child mortality in Nigeria. The study concludes that apart from low government spending on healthcare services there are other factors that influence under-five malaria mortality rate. The study, therefore, recommends that the government should roll out programs to increase citizen's income, increase girl child education participation, female labor force participation, increase awareness of immunization, and increase the supply of physicians to reduce the high doctor-patient ratio.