Effect of Per Capita Health Spending on Child Mortality in Nigeria

The study investigated the effect of per capita health spending on child mortality in Nigeria using secondary data from 1980 to 2012. The study employed multiple regression methodology. Results show that per capita health spending has no significant effect on infant mortality rate and neonatal mortality rate in Nigeria. Results also show that per capita health spending and per capita education expenditure have significant effect on under-five mortality rate in Nigeria. Finally, the study concludes that health care expenditure is far from the optimum which at present cannot sustain the teeming population health challenges and recommends that government should increase and sustain health spending especially on programmes aimed at reducing child mortality as it is this study’s believe that child mortality could significantly reduce with increased health spending in Nigeria.