Qualitative exploration of intra-household variations in treatment of child illness in polygynous Yoruba families: the use of local expressions

Abstract

The drastic cut in government expenditure on health with the extension of the 'user pays' principle to health care utilization in Nigeria following the adoption of the Structural Adjustment Program is probably having its greatest effect on the family. Contrary to what happened in the past, when the cost of treatment was usually borne by the mother of a sick child, the role of the father is becoming increasingly significant. Before the introduction of the 'user pays' principle to health care, treatment in many government hospitals was free. Intra-household variations in response to and treatment of child illness, especially in polygynous Yoruba households in Nigeria, occurred for a number of other reasons. Probably because the mother and her children usually form a social unit within a polygynous union, meeting the cost of treatment and some other minor daily needs of the child has always been the responsibility of the mother, although the economic independence of most senior wives seems to have waned as a result of current economic difficulties. In the past, a woman's ability to meet the cost of treatment of her children was partly explained by her separate income from that of her husband, but with the persistent rise in cost of treatment, many mothers now have to look to their husbands or other sources for assistance in paying for treatment of their children. This paper examines treatment behaviour under the present circumstances and explores how common expressions of the Yoruba can be used to explain differences in a polygynous husband’s responses to the treatment of illness of his wives' children. Such treatment poses a great risk of child morbidity and mortality now that the role of the father has become important in meeting the current high cost of treatment in many Yoruba families. Show more