Correlates of infants and child stunting in Nigeria: a multilevel Analysis

Ibukunoluwa F. A. Odelola, University of the Witwatersrand
Sunday A. Adedini, Obafemi Awolowo University and University of the Witwatersrand

Stunting is an excellent way of measuring child health inequalities and human capital. Alarming rates of stunting among under-five children in Nigeria makes this study relevant. This study examines the influence of community contexts on infant (age 0-11 months) and childhood (12-59 months) stunting in Nigeria. Multilevel binary logistic regression analysis was performed on 20,192 women of childbearing age who had total of 28,596 children during the five years preceding the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. Being a male child(aOR: 1.27; P-Value<0.05), born small at birth(aOR: 2.31; P-Value<0.05), and with incomplete immunization(aOR: 0.23; P-value<0.05) predisposes children to be stunted both at infancy and during early childhood.. Findings from this study emphasize amongst others the need for interventions aimed at improving both maternal and child health if efforts to reduce chronic forms of malnutrition among children will yield the desired results in Nigeria