Background: As part of the bid to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for children, the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by the United Nations in 2015. Reports show that economically and socially deprived neighbourhoods have an increased risk of under-five mortality.

Objectives: To describe the causes of childhood deaths in selected communities in Nigeria.

Methods: Four states namely, Borno, Kwara, Plateau, and Sokoto states representing three geopolitical zones of Nigeria were included in the study. Two local governments were randomly selected in each state. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed to carry out this survey. Pre-coded questionnaires were used to collect data from care givers.

Results: The three leading causes of death among under-fives in the Borno State was diarrhoea, measles and sudden death, in the Kwara State was asphyxia, diarrhoea, cough; in Sokoto it was diarrhoea, cough and asphyxia, and in the Plateau State it was diarrhoea, acute respiratory illness and malaria.