Investigating Socioeconomic Drivers of Health Inequalities in Nigeria: A Comparative Analysis of Adult and Child Nutritional Outcomes

By: Rabi’u Isah Moh’d, Dominic Iortyer Aondover, Enemona Emeji Negedu, & Rotimi Ekundayo Mathew

Pages: 222–241, Volume: 3, Number: 2

Published by: AEFUNAI Journal of Economics, Finance and Development Studies, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, 8/1/2026, 2026

ISSN (Electronic): 2536-6742

DOI:

Investigating Socioeconomic Drivers of Health Inequalities in Nigeria: A Comparative Analysis of Adult and Child Nutritional Outcomes

Abstract:

This study undertakes a comparative analysis of socioeconomic health inequalities in Nigeria, focusing on the dual burden of malnutrition. Utilizing nationally representative data from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys (2008, 2013, 2018), the study examines adult nutritional status via Body Mass Index (BMI) and child nutritional status via Weight-for-Age Z-scores (WAZ). Employing Concentration Index (CI) and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition analyses, the research provides a nuanced diagnosis of how wealth, education and occupation shape health outcomes in opposite directions across the life course. The evidence confirms a persistent and growing pro-rich inequality in adult BMI, driven increasingly by disparities in educational attainment and urban residence, alongside substantial unexplained structural barriers that limit the health returns to socioeconomic assets among the poor. Concurrently, the analysis reveals a deep and enduring pro-poor inequality in child WAZ, predominantly explained by maternal education and access to antenatal care, yet increasingly compounded by systemic failures that prevent poor households from translating resources into health gains. These divergent patterns suggested that Nigeria is facing a dual burden of malnutrition, where overnutrition rises among the affluent while undernutrition remains entrenched among the disadvantaged. The study recommends addressing the structural determinants of both undernutrition and overnutrition to achieve health equity, among others.

Keywords: Health Inequality, Socioeconomic Status, Dual Burden of Malnutrition, Oaxaca-Blinder Decomposition