MJAMR

Neglected Tropical Diseases, Malaria Incidence and Mortality Heterogeneity in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Infant Mortality and Quantile Distributions

LIADI Olawale Rasheed


Abstract

This paper examines the influence of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and malaria incidence on child health and their heterogeneous effects across different levels of maternal and infant mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper is developed from the second and third objectives of a doctoral study on NTDs, malaria incidence and maternal and child health in the region. It uses annual panel data for selected Sub-Saharan African countries covering 1990-2023. Infant mortality rate is used as the core child-health outcome for the second objective, while maternal mortality ratio and infant mortality rate are jointly used for the distributional analysis under the third objective. NTDs are proxied by Human African trypanosomiasis, while malaria incidence is measured per 1,000 population at risk. Control variables include immunisation coverage, current health expenditure and physician density for the infant mortality model; prevalence of undernourishment, current health expenditure and female secondary school enrolment are used in the maternal mortality quantile model. The Augmented Mean Group (AMG) and Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG) estimators are employed to account for heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence, while the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) is used to identify distribution-specific effects. The findings show that both NTDs and malaria incidence significantly worsen infant mortality. Country-level estimates further reveal that Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea, South Sudan, Mozambique and Cameroon record some of the strongest diseaserelated mortality effects. The quantile results show that NTDs matter more at lower infant mortality quantiles, while malaria incidence remains consistently harmful and becomes more severe at higher quantiles. For maternal mortality, malaria incidence increases steadily across the distribution, while NTDs show a stronger effect at the lower quantiles and re-emerge at the extreme upper quantile. The paper concludes that disease-control policies in Sub-Saharan Africa should be both integrated and distribution-sensitive, combining NTD eradication, malaria prevention, immunisation, health financing and expansion of healthcare personnel.

Keywords

neglected tropical diseases; malaria incidence; infant mortality; maternal mortality; Sub-Saharan
Metropolitan Journal of Academic Multidisciplinary Research

Cite This Article

LIADI Olawale Rasheed (2026). Neglected Tropical Diseases, Malaria Incidence and Mortality Heterogeneity in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Infant Mortality and Quantile Distributions. Metropolitan Journal of Academic Multidisciplinary Research, 5(9). https://journals.miu.ac.ug/pages/article.php?article_id=1888

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