Using extended concentration and achievement indices to study socioeconomic inequality in chronic childhood malnutrition: the case of Nigeria.
OBJECTIVE
To assess and quantify the magnitude of inequalities in under-five child malnutrition, particularly those ascribable to socio-economic status


METHODS
Data on 4187 under-five children were derived from the Nigeria 2003 Demographic and Health Survey. Household asset index was used as the main indicator of socio-economic status. Socio-economic inequality in chronic childhood malnutrition was measured using the "extended" illness concentration and achievement indices.


RESULTS
There are considerable pro-rich inequalities in the distribution of stunting. South-east and south-west regions had low average levels of childhood malnutrition, but the inequalities between the poor and the better-off were very large. By contrast, North-east and North-west had fairly small gaps between the poor and the better-off on childhood malnutrition, but the average values of the childhood malnutrition was extremely high.


CONCLUSIONS
There are significant differences in under-five child malnutrition that favour the better-off of society as a whole and all geopolitical regions. Like other studies have reported, reliance on global averages alone can be misleading. Thus there is a need for evaluating policies not only in terms of improvements in averages, but also improvements in distribution.
Uthman
Olalekan A
OA
Center for Evidence-Based Global Health, Ilorin, PO Box 5146, Kwara State, Nigeria. uthlekan@yahoo.com.