One in every eight Nigerian children does not survive to their fifth birthday, 2018 Demographic and Health Survey has revealed.
A further breakdown of data in the survey indicates that the situation is similar for under-one children as one out of every 13 children do not live to celebrate their first birthdays. This analysis comes from the interpretation of the 2018 report of Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) which put Nigeria’s infant mortality rate is 74 deaths per 1,000 live births and under-five mortality rate for the same period at 117 deaths per 1,000 live births.
The report also indicates that infant and under-five mortality rates have both declined gradually over the past 25 years, down from 126 and 213, respectively, in 1990.
The NDHS, implemented by the National Population Commission (NPC) and other partners, provides data for monitoring the health situation of the population in Nigeria. The 2018 NDHS is the 6th Demographic and Health Survey conducted in the country. It provides estimates at urban and rural areas for the national level, the six zones, the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Gloomy for under-five
The under-five mortality rate varies by state in Nigeria. Data from the report shows that Ogun State, in Nigeria’s south-west, has the lowest under-five mortality with 30 deaths per 1,000 live births while Kebbi State, in the north-west, has the highest under-five mortality with 252 deaths per 1,000 live births. Next to Kebbi state is Jigawa state with 213 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Unmet Need for Family Planning by State
The report also revealed that in Nigeria, 17% of married women use any method of family planning, 12% use a modern method and 5% use a traditional method. Generally, the use of modern methods of family planning among married women is not the same.
The report found out that the use is determined by residence, wealth, and state. For instance, the use of modern methods of family planning is higher among women in urban areas with 18% while for women in rural areas, it is just 8%.
Generally, modern method use ranges from a low of 2% in both Sokoto and Yobe states followed by Borno state with 5% while Lagos state has the highest with 29%. The survey found out that 19% of married women in Nigeria are not using any family planning whatsoever to stop or delay childbearing. Out of this percentage, 7% want to stop childbearing while 12% want to delay childbearing.
The map for unmet need for family planning by the state indicates that Cross River State has the highest married women who are not using any family planning with 35%, next is Edo state with 33% while the lowest is Anambra and Adamawa states with 10% each respectively.
Women with unmet need are those who are fertile and sexually active but are not using any method of contraception. Such women mostly report not wanting any more children or wanting to delay the next child.
Fertility Rate and modern use of family planning
In the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey report, women have an average of 5.3 children in Nigeria. Fertility rate also varies by residence and state. Like others, women in urban areas have an average of 4.5 children while those in rural areas averaged 5.9.
Looking at the rate of fertility by state, Lagos state has the lowest with 3.4 children per woman, followed by Akwa Ibom with 3.6 children per woman. The highest fertility rate goes to Kastina with 7.3 per woman followed by Bauchi state with 7.2 children per woman.
The map shows that the Northwest has the highest rate of fertility in Nigeria which means that states under North West give birth more than other women in other states. The report shows that the number of married women that use a modern method of family planning is 12% and 5% use traditional methods. The use of modern methods is higher among urban women with 18% while for the rural women this is just 8%.
The modern method use by the state is low in Sokoto and Yobe states with 2% each while Lagos state has 29%. Northcentral states have the lowest use of modern methods with 14% while Southwest has the highest use with 24% in Nigeria.
The modern method use by the state is low in Sokoto and Yobe states with 2% each while Lagos state has 29%. Northcentral states have the lowest use of modern methods with 14% while Southwest has the highest use with 24% in Nigeria.
Malaria Prevalence by State
Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
In 2018, there was an estimated 228 million cases of malaria worldwide. The estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 405 000 in 2018.
Children aged under five years are the most vulnerable group affected by malaria in 2018, they accounted for 67% of all malaria deaths worldwide. In 2018, the region was 93% of malaria cases and 94% of malaria deaths. (This sentence is not clear)
In the report, children between the ages of six to 59 months who tested positive for malaria by microscopy in Nigeria is 23%. Malaria prevalence can also be determined by the state, it ranges from 2% in Lagos to 52% in Kebbi.
Stunted growth rate by state
Another factor that contributed to high mortality in children is stunted growth rate. This occurs when a child fails to meet the expected height or weight for their age. This ia caused by malnutrition which could be a situation whereby children are not eating enough or are eating foods that lack growth-promoting nutrients and recurrent infections.
37% of under-five children are stunted or too short for their age in Nigeria which is about 2 in 5 children. 7% of children under five are too thin for their height, while 22% of children under five are underweight, or too thin for their age.
When categorizing it by state, the report showed that stunted growth is lowest in Anambra and Enugu with 14% and 15% while Kebbi has the highest stunted growth with 66% followed by Jigawa state with 64%.
Poor Health Funding
The unimpressive result from the demographic and health surveys reflected a very weak health system in Nigeria. Most of the factors leading to child mortality could be linked to poor funding of Nigeria’s health sector. In a recent report published by DATAPHYTE, it was revealed that the federal government budgeted approximately N2, 000 for the healthcare of each citizen in the 2020 budget.
Some of Nigeria’s previous health indices provide context to how dire the situation is in the country. According to the World Health Organisation, Nigeria is “the country where nearly 20% of all global maternal deaths happen. Between 2005 and 2015, it is estimated that over 600,000 maternal deaths and no less than 900,000 maternal near-miss cases occurred in the country”.
Also, only 61% of pregnant women have access to antenatal services, according to the HealthCare for Women International and Relief Web while Trading Economics puts birth attended by skilled health staff by 2014 at 35%. Furthermore, reported cases of Meningococcal disease by WHO as of March 2017 is a total of 1,407 with 211 cases resulting in deaths, although the Nigeria Center for Disease Control puts the number of reported cases at 914.
Global Polio Eradication Initiative puts reported cases of poliomyelitis in Nigeria at 13 in 2019 and 34 in the year 2018.