Spatial Distribution and Socioeconomic Correlates of Child Stunting in Sokoto State, North West Nigeria

Child stunting reflects chronic undernutrition and is associated with long-term deficits in cognitive development, economic productivity, and intergenerational health. North West Nigeria has the highest stunting prevalence in the country, yet fine-grained spatial and socioeconomic analysis at the intra-state level in Sokoto remains limited. This study maps the spatial distribution of child stunting and examines its socioeconomic correlates among children aged 6 to 59 months across the 23 local government areas of Sokoto State. A cross-sectional analytical design is applied to a representative sample of 1,380 children drawn from the 2022 Sokoto State Nutrition Survey conducted by the Nutrition Society of Nigeria in partnership with the State Ministry of Health. Height-for-age Z-scores are derived using WHO Anthro software to classify stunting. Geographic information systems are used to produce choropleth maps of stunting prevalence by local government area, and multilevel logistic regression in Stata identifies individual and community-level socioeconomic predictors of stunting, accounting for clustering at household and community levels. Dietary diversity scores, maternal education, access to improved water, and household wealth quintile are included as independent variables. The UNICEF Determinants of Child Malnutrition framework underpins the analytical approach. Findings will enable Sokoto State's Ministry of Health and Social Development to prioritise geographic and socioeconomic targeting of nutrition interventions. Keywords: child stunting, spatial distribution, socioeconomic correlates, malnutrition, Sokoto State.