Health Deprivation in Rural Settlements of Borno State, Nigeria

Illness and burden of diseases are manifestation of health deprivation. In rural areas, most of the diseases afflicting people are in most cases outcomes of failure of public health policy and ecological incapacity. This paper addresses these issues using Borno state as the setting. The objectives of the paper are to delineate the spatial pattern of health deprivation, and identify the coping strategies for mitigating health deprivation. Data were gathered through primary (Questionnaire administration and participatory rural appraisal techniques) and secondary (Policy documents on health, water and environment) sources. A multistage sampling approach was used to select respondents from the two ecological zones in the study area out of which 630 respondents were selected from 9 local government areas. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and Z-score analysis. Among the findings is that about 83% of the sampled rural respondents spent between 1-2 hours to reach medical facility. Due to cost and distance to health facility about 65.26% claimed to experience deprivation. The major ailments reported include flu, malaria and typhoid fever, cerebrospinal meningitis, scabies and physiological discomfort. Spatially rural areas with health facility and clement weather conditions have low Z-score (Damboa (-5.94), Hawul (-2.24) and Konduga (-2.01) while highly deprived are settlements in Kukawa (5.11), Monguno (2.68) Kwaya-Kusar (1.26) and Mobbar (1.15).The coping strategies adopted include Praying to God; use of alternative medicine; patronizing ‘Chemists’ and migration. The conclusion is that spatial disparity in health deprivation should be addressed to improve the quality of life among rural dwellers. Recommendations include advocating self-help approach to health infrastructure provision, promotion of rain water harvesting technology and involving non-government organizations in rural health issues.