Mapping the determinants of child mortality in Nigeria: estimates from mortality index

Abstract

Although the risk factors of child mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa have received much attention in the literature, detailed spatially varying relationships among these factors have remained unknown. The assumption is that the determinants exact matching influence across space but there are good reasons to doubt the veracity of this claim. This study examines the spatially varying relationships of determinants of child mortality in Nigeria, using data from Demographic and Health Surveys. We control the duration of exposure to the risks of mortality by computing the mortality index of individual women. Based on this, we used geographically weighted regression to map the varying effects of the risk factors. The results show that there are huge variations, across space, in the contributions of all the variables considered. We established that factors that made consistent contributions, albeit at different scales, include women’s education, household headship, wealth index, and toilet facilities. The observed variations indicate that cultural, political, and climatic factors operate with these determinants to shape the level of impact on the survival chance of children.