A Comparative Analysis of Socioeconomic Indicators and Child Nutritional Status in Nigeria’s Geopolitical Zones

Abstract

This study analyses variations in child health/nutritional status with socioeconomic status and other factors in Nigeria’s geopolitical zones using data from the Nigeria demographic and health surveys (NDHS) for 2003, 2008 and 2013. The study applies multivariate probit regression analysis and descriptive approaches on measures of child nutritional status such as height-for-age, weight-for-age and weight-for-height z-scores. The results indicate that child nutritional status varies significantly with individual and household socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Overall, the study shows that higher household income, education level of mother above primary, availability of vitamin A supplement two months after delivery, and living in sanitary environment are significantly associated with lower probability of child poor nutritional status that may lead to stunting and underweight. The results also show that in Nigeria child poor nutritional status significantly decreased over time as captured by the year dummies. These findings vary substantially across the six geopolitical zones. The study therefore recommends that zonal-specific policy interventions are needed to improve child health in Nigeria.