Health in Nigeria
This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. (May 2022) |
In
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative[3] finds that Nigeria is fulfilling 48.2% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income.[4] When looking at the right to health with respect to children, Nigeria achieves 66.6% of what is expected based on its current income.[4] In regards to the right to health amongst the adult population, the country achieves only 61.7% of what is expected based on the nation's level of income.[4] Nigeria falls into the "very bad" category when evaluating the right to reproductive health because the nation is fulfilling only 16.3% of what the nation is expected to achieve based on the resources (income) it has available.[4]
Life expectancy and under-5 mortality rate
Cause of death | IHME rank 2007 | IHME rank 2017 | Percentage change (2007–2017) |
---|---|---|---|
Malaria | 1 | 4 | -35.8 |
Diahrrheal disease | 2 | 5 | -39.5 |
HIV/AIDS | 3 | 3 | -25.7 |
Lower respiratory infection | 4 | 1 | -10.7 |
Neonatal disorders | 5 | 2 | -1.5 |
Tuberculosis | 6 | 6 | -15.2 |
Meningitis | 7 | 7 | -2.0 |
Cirrhosis | 8 | 10 | 1.3 |
Ischemic heart disease | 9 | 8 | 24.5 |
Stroke | 10 | 9 | 15.0 |
Source: Institute for Health Metric and Evaluation (IHME)[1]
Source: Under-5 Mortality Rate (per 1,000 live births) and Life expectancy at birth (years). Estimates developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation
(UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division)[5][6]
Countries/Regions | Life expectancy at birth (2007) | Life expectancy at birth (2017) | U5MR per 1000 live births (2017) | U5MR per 1000 live births (2007) | Estimated population (2018) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nigeria | 49 | 54 | 146 | 100 | 195 million+ | |
Reference countries | Ghana (Western Africa) | 60 | 63 | 82 | 49 | 29 million+ |
Malawi (Southern Africa) | 53 | 64 | 103 | 55 | 18 million+ | |
Rwanda (Eastern Africa) | 59 | 67 | 88 | 38 | 13 million+ | |
Sudan (Northern Africa) | 61 | 67 | 84 | 63 | 41 million+ | |
Norway | 80 | 83 | 4 | 3 | 5 million+ | |
United States | 78 | 79 | 8 | 7 | 327 million+ | |
China | 75 | 76 | 20 | 9 | 1.393 billion | |
Australia | 81 | 82 | 5 | 4 | 24 million | |
Reference regions & world | East Asia & Pacific | 74 | 76 | 26 | 16 | 2.328 billion |
Europe & Central Asia | 75 | 78 | 15 | 9 | 918 million+ | |
Latin America & the Caribbean | 73 | 76 | 24 | 18 | 641 million+ | |
Middle East & North Africa | 72 | 74 | 31 | 23 | 448 million+ | |
South Asia | 66 | 69 | 71 | 45 | 1.814 billion | |
Sub-Saharan Africa | 55 | 61 | 116 | 76 | 1.078 billion | |
World | 70 | 72 | 58 | 39 | 7.594 billion |
Source: United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. The World Bank Group[5][6][7]
Maternal mortality
Maternal mortality rate in Nigeria is above 800 per 100,000 live births.
A study published in 2019 investigated the competency of emergency obstetric care among health providers and found it lower than average.[14] Another study shows decrease in maternal mortality in the southern part of the country while it's still on the increase in North due to low level of education.[15]
Maternal mortality affects the socioeconomic development of the country negatively.
Water supply and sanitation
Access to an improved water source stagnated at 47% of the population from 1990 to 2006, then increased to 54% in 2010. In urban areas access decreased from 80% to 65% in 2006, and then recovered to 74% in 2010.[17]
Adequate sanitation is typically in the form of septic tanks, as there is no central sewage system, except for in Abuja and some areas of Lagos.[18] A 2006 study estimated that only 1% of Lagos households were connected to general sewers.[19] In 2016, mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and lack of hygiene is 68.6 deaths per 100,000 populations.[20]
HIV/AIDS
The Nigeria
Malaria
In 2017, according to IHME ranking,
Endemic diseases
In 1985, an incidence of
Food
Nutrition, especially in the north of the country, is often poor. Since 2002, food staples are supposed to be fortified with nutrients such as vitamin A, folic acid, zinc, iodine and iron. Bill Gates, said there had been "pushback" by some in Nigerian industries as this reduced profit margins. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is donating[when?] $5 million over four years to implement a rigorous testing regime to make sure these standards are met. These nutrients would reach poorer children who ate mainly a cereal and beans diet at very low cost and reduce the risk of stunting. Vitamin A would reduce the risk of death from measles or diarrhoea. In some districts 7% of children die before they reach the age of five. Nearly half of these are attributable to malnutrition. Aliko Dangote, whose companies supply salt, sugar and flour, said there would need to be a crack down on the import of low-quality foodstuff, often smuggled into local markets.[35]
Pollution
are major health issues.Water
The aquatic systems in Nigeria are reservoirs for toxic chemicals. The activities of oil and gas industries as well as widespread discharge of effluents into water ways is an eyesore.
Air
Nigeria's air quality is said to be among the most unsafe globally (ranked 4th) and four of its major cities –
Disease/disorder | Air pollution attributable share of total death in percentages |
---|---|
Ischemic heart disease | 4.37 |
Stroke | 3.98 |
Lung cancer | 0.39 |
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 0.89 |
Disease/disorder | Air pollution attributable share of total DALYs in percentages |
---|---|
Ischemic heart disease | 1,3 |
Stroke | 1.47 |
Lung cancer | 0.13 |
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 0.41 |
Causes
Nigeria is home to a lot of automobiles including cars, motorbikes, heavy duty vehicles like buses, lorries etc. that are old and past their best days in term of energy efficiency. They emit a lot of unhealthy fumes including nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon dioxides, carbon monoxides, particulate matter etc. A large amount of waste across the country including household and industrial are disposed by combustion which releases fumes from both organic items, synthetic material like plastic, rubber as well as from dangerous items like batteries and e-waste etc. Most households also contribute to emission of noxious smokes and particulate matters like carbon soot etc. as they rely on inefficient kerosene stoves, fire wood and charcoal for cooking and most time this is done indoor with poor ventilation. Many offices and residences contribute to increased pollution level of the air with noxious fumes from generators which are used as substitute to the public epileptic power supply and these fumes are often released in largely unventilated areas. Other major sources including emission from factories and industries which release similar fumes like automobiles but uses mainly diesel in lieu of gasoline.[46]
Road traffic accidents
Every year 1.25 million people are killed in a road traffic crashes.[47] Between 20 and 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring a disability. Road traffic injuries cause considerable economic losses to individuals, their families, and to nations as a whole. These losses arise from the cost of treatment as well as lost productivity for those killed or disabled by their injuries, and for family members who need to take time off work or school to care for the injured. Road traffic crashes cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic product. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among people aged between 15 and 29 years.[48]
Over 3 400 people die on the world's roads every day and tens of millions of people are injured or disabled every year. Children, pedestrians, cyclists and older people are among the most vulnerable of road users. WHO works with partners - governmental and nongovernmental - around the world to raise the profile of the preventability of road traffic injuries and promote good practice related to addressing key behaviour risk factors – speed, drink-driving, the use of motorcycle helmets, seat-belts and child restraints.[49]
With the continued dangerous trend of road
Level and trend of road traffic accidents
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says 456 people died and 3404 others were injured in 826 accidents recorded nationwide in January (2018).[52]
The FRSC stated this in its CCC report for January signed by its Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi.[53]
The UN Sustainable Development Goals
This article needs to be updated.(May 2022) |
In September 2015, the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Building on the principle of "leaving no one behind", the new Agenda emphasizes a holistic approach to achieving sustainable development for all.[54] Target 3.6 under Sustainable Development Goal 3 is designed specifically to addresses the issue of road traffic accident. It says "By 2020, halve (50% less) the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents".
The Federal Government of Nigeria has put some mechanisms in place to ensure implementation of the SDGs in the country[55] however, Nigeria is still far from achieving this goal.
Traditional/Alternative medicine
As recent reports have shown, in addition to the many benefits there are also risks associated with the different types of Traditional medicine / alternative medicine. Although consumers today have widespread access to various traditional/alternative medicine treatments and therapies, they often do not have enough information on what to check when using them in order to avoid unnecessary harm.[56] While traditional medicine has a lot to contribute to the health and economy, much harm has resulted from unregulated sale and misuse of traditional/alternative medicine and herbs in the country and has significantly delayed patients' seeking professional healthcare.[57]
Climate change
In recent times[
With around 200 million people,
The greatest health risk is for illness to result in mortality. Climate change has the potential to exacerbate prevalent diseases as well as emerging ones like High blood pressure, psychosis, neurosis and congenital malformations.[61] Climate change creates overwhelming problems for an already impoverished populace.
Flooding is a consequence of climate change from rise in sea level and poor infrastructure, especially with drainage systems planning and design. For instance, southern Nigeria is highly susceptible to flooding; particularly Lagos, the commercial hub of the country, which is said to be one meter above the sea level,[62] is threatened with possible extinction. The direct health implications of flooding could be deduced to include direct water borne diseases like typhoid, cholera, pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria. These, as we will see in the table below are diseases that already immensely burden the Nigerian populace.
Percentage of total deaths | Percentage of DALYs | |
Malaria | 12% | 11.16% |
Typhoid fever | 0.22% | 0.24% |
Diarreal diseases | 11.36% | 11.86% |
Source: institute for Health Metric and Evaluation (IHME 2019) |
The
Additionally, high temperature affects diseases spread and rates of transmission of vector-borne and rodent-borne diseases. Temperature affects pathogen maturation rate and mosquito replication, the insect's density in a specific area, and increases infection likelihood.[67] Malaria parasites are recognized to remain sensitive to temperature, particularly throughout the so-called extrinsic period of incubation for parasite lifecycle, which happens once the parasite remains alive in the mosquitos.[67] For example, warmer temperatures promote faster reproductive cycles in mosquitoes that transit malaria and in the parasite itself.[68]
Although Nigeria has identified with the rest of the world in acknowledging climate change and its potential impacts for health and wellbeing, there are still gaps in the planning and implementation of actions to mitigate these effects. The WHO- Climate and Health Country Profile for Nigeria (2015), highlights the successes and shortcomings that characterize the country's climate change response. These include: identifying a national focal point for climate change in the Ministry of Health and the development of a national health adaptation strategy. However, no actions have been implemented towards building institutional and technical capacities to work on climate change and health. Also, Nigeria has climate information included in its Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response system, including development of early warning and response systems for climate-sensitive health risks. Albeit, no activities have been implanted to increase resilience of health infrastructure. Finally, it is important to note that[
These gaps present opportunities for actions, the implementation of which has potential to better prepare Nigeria as a country to mitigate the health risks that climate change poses to its people. The WHO suggests a comprehensive vulnerability and adaptation assessment with a focus on health that includes relevant stakeholders from all sectors and an estimate of the costs to implement health resilience to climate change, covering infrastructure as well as institutional and technical capacities. Furthermore, actions need to be taken, that will ensure greening of the health sector, such as promoting the use of renewable energy, and finally, conducting a valuation of the co-benefits to health of climate mitigation policies. This will, among other benefits, help to monitor progress.[
See also
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{{cite journal}}
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Further consideration
- Nigeria's Neglected Diseases, National Public Radio, 3-part series. 12–13 March 2007.