ANALYSIS OF SPATIAL VARIATIONS OF HOUSING ENVIRONMENT AND DISEASES OCCURRENCE IN KEFFI - NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

The problem of ill health arising from poor housing environment is a major source of global concern. This study examined the relationships between the quality of urban housing environment in Keffi and the incidence of diseases occurrence in Keffi. The study uses over 4,000 clinical cases collected from four hospitals in Keffi and 300 questionnaires. Analyses of the data have shown housing quality and the rate of disease occurrence in Keffi. Similarly, the scores for the 30 quality variables used revealed inter-zonal differences in urban quality. The diseases were found to be endemic within the central areas, predominantly in poorly inaccessible and overcrowded residential neighborhood with deteriorated and deteriorating housing as 68 per cent of incidences are explained by environmental quality. However, only 41.4 per cent of the variation is determined by environmental quality. The study recommends on the housing improvement to enhance the health status of the residents, social responsibility; emphasis on such community sanitation strategies as enlightment campaign and other control measures among others. Action necessary at the policy level should include the review of the State’s health policy to focus more on environmental health and preventive health care. The policy should facilitate the people’s capacity to maintain and manage a clean environment through decentralized functions.