Assessing the Link between Maternal Transport Modes and Childhood Mortality in Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES: The study explored the association between maternal transport modes and childhood mortalities in Nigeria. METHOD: Utilizing data and definitions from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey report, the ten-year early mortality rates of the five childhood mortalities and the percentage of live births in the 5 years before the survey, transported by eight identified means of transportation, were statistically correlated for each of Nigeria's 36 states and the federal capital territory (FCT) in the R environment at a significance level of α < 0.05. RESULTS: In the spatial distribution of the five childhood mortalities, a notable north-south dichotomy was observed, contrasting with the spatial spread of maternal transport modes. The five childhood mortalities exhibited a significant, moderately positive correlation with transportation by Private Car or Truck, while their associations with Public Transport or Bus and Walking were notably moderate but negative. CONCLUSION FOR PRACTICE: While the use of private cars or trucks should be encouraged as a means of maternal transport, public transport should be better organized to provide efficient services to women who need such services for maternal and child healthcare. Additionally, steps should be taken to reduce travel distances to health facilities to manageable distances for mothers.

A local government area based Covid-19 vulnerability analysis in Nigeria.

Vulnerability to COVID-19 has been widely studied from varying perspectives, but susceptibility at the grassroots has not been adequately considered. The vulnerability of the 774 local government areas (LGAs) in Nigeria to COVID-19 and its predictors were determined using road distances from the two major entry airports in the country to each of the LGAs, socio-economic indices, quality of hygiene, and the level of exposure to mass media. LGA population data were obtained from the National Population Commission of Nigeria, while socio-economic and socio-demographic data were extracted from the 2018 NDHS report. Distances were determined with the aid of an online distance calculator, distantias. The single most important predictor was female non-exposure to mass media. Distances from the COVID-19 epicentres of Lagos and Abuja did not contribute much to the model. Thus, the result highlighted the strategic position of women in the African community and the potential of the mass media in disease control. The suppression of the established effect of distance suggests that vulnerability to COVID-19 in developing countries may not follow the path assumed in developed countries. Thus, the way to contain the disease in developing countries might be the active enlightenment of women.