Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the trend in socioeconomic inequalities in child undernutrition in Nigeria. Methods: The study analysed cross-sectional data from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2003 to 2013. The outcome variables were stunting, wasting and underweight among children under-five years. The magnitude of child undernutrition in Nigeria was estimated via a concentration index, and the socioeconomic factors contributing to child undernutrition over time were determined using the decomposition method. Results: The concentration index showed an increase in childhood wasting and underweight in Nigeria over time. The socioeconomic factors contributing to the increase in child undernutrition were: child’s age (0–23 months), maternal education (no education), household wealth index (poorest household), type of residence (rural) and geopolitical zone (North East, North West). Conclusions: To address child undernutrition, there is a need to improve maternal education and adopt effective social protection policies especially in rural communities in Nigeria.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e0211883 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | PLoS One |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2019 |
Open Access - Access Right Statement
© 2019 Akombi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Keywords
- Nigeria
- children
- malnutrition
- nutrition