Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 aims
at reducing under-five mortality by two-thirds between
1990 and 2015. However, monitoring this goal is a challenging
task. With an estimated 162 million people in
2011, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country with
generally poor maternal and child health indicators.
Maternal mortality ratio was estimated at 545 deaths per
100,000 live births in 2008 and recent data show that
under-five mortality rates have varied tremendously. This
paper provides a synthesis of the data collection and estimation
procedures used by the two major sources of child
mortality data in Nigeria (the Multiple Indicator Cluster
Surveys; and Demographic and Health Surveys) and the
importance of reflecting on these dynamics in order to
utilize the mortality estimates in program monitoring and
evaluation. While efforts to seek explanations for the
unstable trends in mortality rates are ongoing, this study
calls for stakeholders to seek studies that employ more
detailed and robust disaggregation methods that take into
account the relative impact of socio-demographic, medical,
and public health variables on mortality rates. This will be
crucial in assessing the effectiveness of selected interventions
in reducing mortality. Further, the study encourages
collection, use, and triangulation of health and demographic
surveillance system (HDSS) and other available
data which could assist in monitoring progress towards
achieving MDGs since HDSS as well as census or survey
data would provide an opportunity to measure and evaluate
interventions through longitudinal follow-up of
populations.