Climate change and health vulnerability in informal urban settlements of Kaduna Metropolis

Abstract

Nigeria is identified as one of the hot spots of climate change, and it is projected to be affected more, due to its location and coping capacity. Urban populations living in informal settlements are widely recognized as inherently vulnerable to climate change, because of their socioeconomic characteristics. Information regarding health vulnerabilities of these populations is lacking in Nigeria, which will severely constrains the design of climate change adaptation strategies. This study has provided information for the city of Kaduna, Nigeria, by using both climate and socioeconomic information in two selected communities (Sabon- Tasha and Rigasa) where informal settlements exist. Multistage sampling technique was used in selecting target communities, while Focus Group Discussions and structured questions where used in obtaining information, in addition to the meteorological obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency. Obtained information was used to compute vulnerability index. Results indicate both communities have little or no knowledge about their health vulnerability and risk to climate change. On the scale of 0 – 10, both communities show high vulnerability to changes in temperature (6.0) and rainfall patterns (5.6). While in terms of vulnerability of the nominated diseases, both communities shows high index to malaria (8.7) and cholera (8.2).