Estimating areas of common risk in low birth weight and infant mortality in Namibia: A joint spatial analysis at sub-regional level

• The prevalence of infant mortality and low birth weight are very low in Namibia.
• Areas of similarities in risk were modeled.
• Areas of common risk for both outcomes exist in central and north-east Namibia.
• The findings provide an opportunity for integrated deployment of resources.

There is lots of literature documenting a positive association between low birth weight (LBW) and infant mortality (IM), however, little is known how the risk of LBW and IM are geographically co-distributed. We fitted joint spatial models of LBW and IM, and used data from Namibia, to examine their geographical variability. We used a Bayesian approach to measure and rank areas according to specific and shared risk of LBW and IM. Our findings show some degree of similarities in the spatial pattern of LBW and IM, with high risk in the central and north-eastern parts of the country. Results suggest a need for comprehensive programming of maternal and newborn interventions that reach areas of spatially concentrated risk of LBW and IM. It further presents an opportunity for generating hypotheses for further research aimed at improving child health, especially in higher risk constituencies thus identified.