**4. Housing conditions in Nigeria**

At the national scale, [14] studied 40 cities cutting across various Nigerian city typologies. He noted that as a result of low building technology and absence of durable building materials, not more than 9% of houses were built of mud and bricks which had very short life spans. He further reported that the only cities with a reasonable percentage of buildings older than 80 years were the coastal towns located on sea and river ports and few other hinterland cities that formed contact points for colonial trade and administration [14].

a large proportion of houses of cases than controls recorded the presence of algal growth on walls (OR = 6.3; 95% CI = 2.0–19.6). More houses among cases than controls were built using

Housing Quality and Risk Factors Associated with Respiratory Health Conditions in Nigeria

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.78543

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muds (OR = 4.6; 95% C.1 = 1.6–12.8) [17].

**Figure 2.** Materials used in building.

Source: Fakunle et al. [17]

**Figure 3.** Physical conditions of buildings. Source: Owoeye and Ogundiran [16].

Case Poor Good

**Table 1.** Relationship between housing quality and ARI.

**Category/score Control p-Value**

Good 10 (43.5%) 13 (56.5%)

Poor 18 (41.9%) 25 (58.1%) 0.017

A study carried out by [15] studied the association between housing conditions and health status among households in Nigeria's deserted rural areas, with specific focus on rural Akwa Ibom State. They revealed that rural household in Akwa Ibom State suffered marked deficiency in all the five indicators of housing examined. The safety and security apparatus of the households indicated that 92% of the households lacked fire extinguisher in their homes, 73% had no first aid box while 78% lived in fenceless houses. In terms of indoor temperature/ ventilation, 66% reported having no ceiling in their rooms while 41% lived in homes with bedrooms lacking windows on two walls [15]. The study also revealed that 60% of the households live in houses with leaked roof, cracked wall (56%) and broken windows (54%) while 75% of the household lived in houses with broken floor condition (**Plate 1**) [15].

According to a study by [16] in the urban setting of Nigeria, the quality of housing was reported to be very poor due to the quality of building materials used for construction, and poor planning standard in handling the building components. Sun dried blocks and muds accounted for materials mostly used for building in the study area. Only 7.69% of buildings were reported to be in good condition (see **Figures 2** and **3** for details).

A case-control study carried out in Ibadan among under-five children with and without acute respiratory infections [17] revealed that more cases than controls reside in houses with poor housing quality (OR = 2.5; CI = 1.3–5.1, p < 0.05) (**Table 1**). A large proportion of houses of cases than controls showed the presence of damp walls (OR = 2.9; 95% CI = 1.1–8.1). Similarly,

**Plate 1.** (A) Slum houses and (B) a typical building in a riverine community of Nigeria.

a large proportion of houses of cases than controls recorded the presence of algal growth on walls (OR = 6.3; 95% CI = 2.0–19.6). More houses among cases than controls were built using muds (OR = 4.6; 95% C.1 = 1.6–12.8) [17].

**Figure 2.** Materials used in building.

**4. Housing conditions in Nigeria**

98 Housing

At the national scale, [14] studied 40 cities cutting across various Nigerian city typologies. He noted that as a result of low building technology and absence of durable building materials, not more than 9% of houses were built of mud and bricks which had very short life spans. He further reported that the only cities with a reasonable percentage of buildings older than 80 years were the coastal towns located on sea and river ports and few other hinterland cities

A study carried out by [15] studied the association between housing conditions and health status among households in Nigeria's deserted rural areas, with specific focus on rural Akwa Ibom State. They revealed that rural household in Akwa Ibom State suffered marked deficiency in all the five indicators of housing examined. The safety and security apparatus of the households indicated that 92% of the households lacked fire extinguisher in their homes, 73% had no first aid box while 78% lived in fenceless houses. In terms of indoor temperature/ ventilation, 66% reported having no ceiling in their rooms while 41% lived in homes with bedrooms lacking windows on two walls [15]. The study also revealed that 60% of the households live in houses with leaked roof, cracked wall (56%) and broken windows (54%) while 75% of

According to a study by [16] in the urban setting of Nigeria, the quality of housing was reported to be very poor due to the quality of building materials used for construction, and poor planning standard in handling the building components. Sun dried blocks and muds accounted for materials mostly used for building in the study area. Only 7.69% of buildings

A case-control study carried out in Ibadan among under-five children with and without acute respiratory infections [17] revealed that more cases than controls reside in houses with poor housing quality (OR = 2.5; CI = 1.3–5.1, p < 0.05) (**Table 1**). A large proportion of houses of cases than controls showed the presence of damp walls (OR = 2.9; 95% CI = 1.1–8.1). Similarly,

that formed contact points for colonial trade and administration [14].

the household lived in houses with broken floor condition (**Plate 1**) [15].

were reported to be in good condition (see **Figures 2** and **3** for details).

**Plate 1.** (A) Slum houses and (B) a typical building in a riverine community of Nigeria.

**Figure 3.** Physical conditions of buildings. Source: Owoeye and Ogundiran [16].


**Table 1.** Relationship between housing quality and ARI.
