Linkages between autonomy, poverty and contraceptive use in two sub-Saharan African countries

Abstract

The paper presents the interaction effect of poverty-wealth status and autonomy on modern contraceptive use in Nigeria and Namibia with a view to examining whether poor women with less autonomy are less likely to use modern contraception than other women. A weighted sample of 3,451 currently married women in 2006-07 Namibia Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and 23,578 in 2008 Nigeria (DHS) are used in the analysis. In Nigeria, the odds of using modern contraception is nearly 15 times higher among rich women with more autonomy than their counterparts who are poor and less autonomous, and 5.5 times higher among Namibian women. The study concluded that contraceptive behaviour of currently married women of Namibia and Nigeria are not independent of the linkage between poverty and autonomy and thus recommended that more concerted efforts be made in addressing poverty and improving the autonomous status of women in sub-Sahara Africa.