Samuel Ojima Adejoh1* , Tunde A. Alabi2, 3 and Chidozie , Ezechukwu4
1Department of Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos, Nigeria. *Corresponding author. Email: sadejoh@unilag.edu.ng
2Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos, Nigeria.
3Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Cape Town,
South Africa taalabi@unilag.edu.ng and
4Country Coordinating Mechanism of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and
Malaria, Abuja, Nigeria
(Received 1 March 2021; revised 29 December 2021; accepted 30 December 2021)
Abstract
Nigeria accounts for a quarter of malaria cases worldwide, which can be prevented with the use of insecticide treated nets (ITN). While studies have documented mother-related characteristics influencing use of ITN, regional variations in the influence of those factors are not well known. This study investigated nine factors (age, place of residence, education, religion, wealth, number of children in the household, sex of child, age of child and previous experience of child mortality) as possible predictors of use of ITN for children and how the associations vary across northern and southern parts of the country. The study utilised the 2015 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey, which comprised 6524 mothers (4009 from the north and 2151 from the south) aged 15-49. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were fitted. It was found that, less than half (47.9%) of the respondents reported no access to a mosquito net in the north compared to 70.8% in the south. More than half (51.4%) of the northern respondents used insecticide treated net (ITN) for the child compared to 27.1% of southern mothers. When the variables are fitted together in the same model, place of residence, mother’s age, mother’s education, wealth, religion, number of children in the household and previous experience of child mortality were associated with the use of ITN. Regional variations exist in the influence of mother’s age, number of children in the household and previous experience of child mortality. It was submitted that mother’s characteristics are more important than the child’s factors in the use of ITN, and that, contrary to the theory of poor utilisation of healthrelated facilities in the north compared to the south, residents in the former have access to and use ITN more than their counterparts from the latter.
Keywords: Insecticide Treated Nets; Malaria Indicator Survey; social and spatial inequality in Nigeria; Mother’s characteristics; Child’s characteristics.
Introduction
An estimated 228 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide in 2018, with most of the cases
(93%) in the African region. Six countries accounted for more than half of all malaria cases worldwide:
Nigeria (25%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12%), Uganda (5%) and Cote
d’Ivoire, Mozambique and Niger (4% each). In the same year, there were an estimated 405
000 deaths from malaria globally. Children under five are the most vulnerable group affected
by malaria. In 2018, they accounted for 67% (272, 000) of all malaria deaths worldwide. The
African region accounted for 94% of all malaria deaths in 2018, with Nigeria accounting for almost
24% of all global malaria deaths [World Health Organisation (WHO), 2019]. Also, in 2018 about
24 million children were estimated to be affected with P. falciparum in sub-Saharan Africa and an