Socio-economic determinants of infant mortality rate in Nigeria: Evidence from autoregressive distributed lag technique

Abstract

Background: The high infant mortality rate (IMR) in Nigeria, in comparison to other African countries and the world at large, has been a major public health concern, while considering the fact that the 3^rd Sustainable Development Goal (SDG3) aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all people of all ages by the year 2030. This study examined the socio-economic determinants of IMR in Nigeria in the short and the long-run periods.

Methods: Data, spanning from year 1990 to 2018, was obtained from the World Bank’s World Development Indicator (WDI) database. We adapted the theoretical framework of Grossman health production function model for this study. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique was used for both the short-and long-run analysis.

Findings: This study revealed that in the long-run, the total fertility rate and carbon IV oxide (CO²) significantly increased IMR by a factor of 2.4045 and 0.1194, respectively. On the other hand, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita (as a proxy for wealth status or income level), public health expenditure, and primary gross educational enrolment level for females all significantly decreased the IMR by a factor of 0.2949, 0.0233, and 0.0714, respectively.

Conclusion: Public health expenditure, wealth/income level and the formal education of women are all significant socio-economic factors implicated in the much-needed reduction of Nigeria’s high IMR. Adequate attention should thus be given by the Government to increasing public health expenditure, reducing poverty, and also, improving the formal educational level of females, working towards the attainment of the SDG3.