Social and Health Impact of Flood in Ido Local Government Area, Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Flooding is a social problem affecting the structure of development in many Nigerian cities. Studies have shown that during and after flood incidences in Nigeria, a greater proportion of people living in flood prone areas are economically and socially affected. In light of this, the study examined social and health impact of flood incidence in Ido Local Government Area of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The population of the study was 103,261 residents of Ido Local Government Area, who spread across four geopolitical wards (Ido North, Central, South and East respectively) from which, four communities namely; Akufo, Ido, Omi-Adio and Idi-Iya experiencing floods were purposively selected. Thereafter, two-hundred flood victims, who are 15 years and above were selected as sample, through quota sampling method. A structured self-developed questionnaire was used to elicit information from them, while the data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. The finding shows that, flooding account for 19.8% of the total variance in spread of diseases and infections in Ido LGA. Also, environmental pollution account for 26.6% of the total variance in flood occurrence in Ido LGA. As well, flood contributes 10.9% to the total variation in displacement of people and businesses in Ido LGA. The result of ANOVA indicates that a significant relationship exists between flood, spread of disease, environmental pollution, poverty and displacement of people in Ido Local Government Area, Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that, effective flood prevention mechanisms are designed by stakeholders in order to attain desirable and sustainable development in Nigeria.

Keywords: development; environment; flood; health; people; poverty

JEL Classification: J47