Socio-economic Determinants of Life Expectancy in Nigeria

Abstract

Socioeconomic Determinants of Life Expectancy in Nigeria 1. Introduction Fifty years after independence, Nigeria health indicators have stagnated or worsened during the past decades, despite investment from private and public sectors to enhance the quality of health of the Nigerian people. Everyday, more than 160 Nigerians die of malaria, malnutrition or complications of pregnancy and childbirth (Adetokunbo, 2006), which means more than 58,400 lives are lost to avoidable health problems yearly. Despite the promise of health for all by 2000 in 1990s, and later emphasized in Vision 20, 2020, this lofty goal is yet to be realised in Nigeria. The national strategic health development plan 2009 to 2013 (NDHS, 2008) contends that " the health status indicators for Nigerians are among the worst in the world and that on the average, health status of the population has declined, compared with the indicators of a decade earlier." Life expectancy at birth, which is a strong measure of health outcomes, measures the quality of life lived right from birth till the time of death (Francesco and Marios, (2006); Fayissa and Gutema, (2005)), has continued to drop, reported to be 47.55 years in 2008 (Nigerian Demographic Health Survey (NDHS, 2008)). There was a marginal increase in the value in 2011 as it was recorded to be 48.4 years, five years lower than the 53 years average for the less developed countries (LDCs). The funding of the sector is grossly inadequate. Even where there is enough fund, there is mismatch of funding, because the tertiary health institutions get more than the local health institutions. Ironically, the disease burden is more in local communities. Life expectancy at birth has continued to drop, reported to be 47.55 years in 2008 (Nigerian Demographic Health Survey (NDHS, 2008)). There was a marginal increase in the value in 2011 as it was recorded to be 48.4 years, five years lower than the 53 years average for the less developed countries (LDCs). However, from 2015, there has been an average of 0.84% marginal increase in life expectancy in Nigeria. For instance, it increased by 0.84% to 53.29 years in 2016 and equally increased by the same magnitude in 2017 to 53.73 years in 2017, though this is still less to what is obtainable most less developed countries which ranges between 50 and 60 years (OECD, 2019