Home ›

THE NIGERIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
ISSN: 0331-4111  e-ISSN: 2736-075X
Volume 18, No. 2, November 2020
Pages 48-61

DOI: 10.36108/NJSA/0202/81(0230)

Health Insecurity among Internally Displaced Persons in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

1 Grace A. Tonye-Scent and 1 Endurance Uzobo

1,1 Department of Sociology, Niger Delta University, Delta State, Nigeria

 

Abstract

Health insecurity is a major problem affecting the well-being of internally displaced persons in Nigeria. In the Niger Delta region, the situation remains virulent with attendant consequences on the displaced population. This study investigated health insecurity among the internally displaced persons. Data were sourced across three States of the Niger Delta Region, identified among areas with a high rate of internal displacement. Human Security Approach was employed as a theoretical framework.  A total of 582 respondents (Bayelsa = 206, Delta = 211, and Rivers = 165) who had been displaced between the year 2012 to 2018 were randomly selected, and a questionnaire was administered. Findings indicated that 51.9% of respondents in Delta state, 50.0% in Rivers state, and 35.7% in Bayelsa state were diagnosed with diseases resulting from flood displacement. The diseases diagnosed were high blood pressure, cholera, hernia, malaria, measles, tuberculosis, and typhoid. While the diagnosis of blood pressure was high in Bayelsa (3.9%) and Delta (3.5%), the diagnosis of cholera was not recorded in Bayelsa and Delta States but Rivers state (3.4%). Those displaced by flood were 0.4 times less likely to experience abnormal health status than those displaced by other causes. The study concluded that displacement has serious implications on the health of internally displaced persons. It, therefore, recommended that medical centres should be cited in displaced camps to cater for the medical needs of the displaced population.

KeywordsDisplacement, health insecurities, flooding, Niger Delta, health status

Download PDF