HEALTH CHARACTERISTICS OF SLUM DWELLERS IN A MEDIUM SIZED CITY IN NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

Millions of urban residents in Nigeria live in slum areas. The health challenges of slum dwellers emanate from households’ less accessibility to basic necessities of life such as portable water, modern health facilities and... [ view full abstract ]

Millions of urban residents in Nigeria live in slum areas. The health challenges of slum dwellers emanate from households’ less accessibility to basic necessities of life such as portable water, modern health facilities and prompt disposal of waste, generated in their neighborhoods. In- adequate provision of these facilities to urban poor makes them prone to unhygienic conditions and so, they are more vulnerable to diseases. It is against this background that the study was designed to examine the characteristics of slum dwellers and their health challenges in Lokoja, north central Nigeria so as to develop appropriate data base for sustainable health programme. An average of one hundred and fifty questionnaires was randomly distributed to slum dwellers in three major areas identified in Lokoja. The questionnaire was designed to elicit information on the characteristic of household residential units occupied by slum dwellers’, facilities available in their neighborhood such as waste management techniques, water sources, accessibility to modern waste disposal as well as provision of health services in their areas. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The findings reveal that slum dwellers are less accessible to health facility in the study area. Further analysis shows that more than 60% of respondents are vulnerable to environmental health challenges such as cholera, diarrhea and malaria. The result of the analysis indicates that sanitary environment and garbage disposal pose series of health challenges to slum dwellers in the study areas. The study also indicates that socio-economic characteristics of slum dwellers such as income, education, s, cultural beliefs and political factors are highly correlated with their health status of slum dwellers. The study concludes that local, state and federal governments should provide basic necessities of life for urban poor who live in slum environment, as this might improve their standard of living.