Paternal Orphanhood, Parental Illness, and Child’s Biological Relationship to Household Head: Their Impact on Child Health in Nigeria

Abstract

This research fills a hole in the literature by investigating whether, in Nigeria, differences exist in the health of paternal orphans or vulnerable children depending on whether they have a close biological relationship with the household head compared to a distant relationship when health is measured through diarrhea, fever, and cough. The research analyzes the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey Data and employs a multi-level logistic regression as the model estimation technique. The results show that, regardless of the measure of child health, among paternal orphans or vulnerable children there is no significant difference in the health of grandchildren or children who are relatives/non-relatives of their household head in contrast to biological children of the household head. Further, results indicate that, among non-orphans or non-vulnerable children, there is a positive and statistically significant difference only in the odds of diarrhea for grandchildren compared to biological children. The devotion of foreign aid in social and health services in 2011–2013 from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for only orphans and vulnerable children, alongside contributions from the Nigeria government and other organizations, alleviated poor health status among said children.