The Effect of Parental Factors on Under-Five Mortality in Borno State, Nigeria

Nigeria is one of the countries with highest U5MRs in the world. North Eastern Nigeria where Borno state is located has highest under-five mortality rate in Nigeria. The country has been making efforts to reduce under-five mortality especially since the year 2000 millennium declaration. However, progress has been too slow to meet the 2015 goal of child mortality reduction. The objective of the study was to examine the parental factors that determine under-five mortality rate in Borno State. The Multistage Sampling Method was used to draw a sample of 370 ever married women in the reproductive ages from six local government areas in the three senatorial districts in the state. The period of study covers the five year period between 2009 and 2013. Logistic Regression was used to determine the parental factors which had the most effect on under-five mortality. Parental factors considered in this study are maternal education, maternal employment status, kind of work she does, as well as paternal education and kind of work. Results of the study show that among the five parental factors under study, maternal education had the greatest influence on under-five mortality reduction although paternal education did not have the same effect. Improving the educational status of women and girls in the state will go a long way to bring down the high under-five mortality rate.