Regional variations and socio-economic disparities in neonatal mortality in Angola: a cross-sectional study using demographic and health surveys.

BACKGROUND: Inequalities in neonatal mortality rates (NMRs) in low- and middle-income countries show key disparities at the detriment of disadvantaged population subgroups. There is a lack of scholarly evidence on the extent and reasons for the inequalities in NMRs in Angola.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the socio-economic, place of residence, region and gender inequalities in the NMRs in Angola.

METHODS: The World Health Organization Health Equity Assessment Toolkit software was used to analyse data from the 2015 Angola Demographic and Health Survey. Five equity stratifiers: subnational regions, education, wealth, residence and sex were used to disaggregate NMR inequality. Absolute and relative inequality measures, namely, difference, population attributable fraction (PAF), population attributable risk (PAR) and ratio, were calculated to provide a broader understanding of the inequalities in NMR. Statistical significance was calculated at corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals.

FINDINGS: We found significant wealth-driven [PAR = -14.16, 95% corresponding interval (CI): -15.12, -13.19], education-related (PAF = -22.5%, 95% CI: -25.93, -19.23), urban-rural (PAF = -14.5%, 95% CI: -16.38, -12.74), sex-based (PAR = -5.6%, 95% CI: -6.17, -5.10) and subnational regional (PAF = -82.2%, 95% CI: -90.14, -74.41) disparities in NMRs, with higher burden among deprived population subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS: High NMRs were found among male neonates and those born to mothers with no formal education, poor mothers and those living in rural areas and the Benguela region. Interventions aimed at reducing NMRs, should be designed with specific focus on disadvantaged subpopulations.