Direct Research Journal of Public Health and Environmental Technology

Abstract

This study examined the possibility of two-way causality between presumptive malaria and poverty in rural South West, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used to obtained primary data from 395 respondent farming households using structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and Two-Stage Probit Least Square (2SPLS) estimated with CDSIMEQ program was employed to examine the two-way causality between presumptive malaria and poverty. The Mean Per Capita Household Expenditure (MPCHHE) for the households stood at N5605.89k with the 2/3 of MPCHHE (poverty line) amounting to N3737.26k. The Foster-Greer- Thorbecke (FGT) results reveals a poverty incidence, depth and severity of 0.425, 0.031 and of 0.004, respectively. The results of 2SPLS show that presumptive malaria significantly explained household poverty status and the reverse effect was equally significant. The coefficient of household poverty status had positive sign (β=2.3949) and it was significant. Similarly, the coefficient of workdays lost to presumptive malaria was positive (β=0.0607) and it was statistically significant. The study established the existence of a bi-causal relationship between presumptive malaria and household poverty, suggesting that the endogeneity bias between malaria and household poverty status is attributable to reciprocal causation. It is therefore recommended that poverty reduction strategies should incorporate malaria control activities to properly address poverty just as it will also offers new areas of intervention in the battle against poverty.

Keywords: Presumptive malaria, poverty, endogeneity, CDSIMEQ, Southwest Nigeria.