Facilities and Health Information
Nigeria has a number of well-trained doctors, yet medical facilities in Nigeria are in poor condition, with inadequately trained nursing staff. Diagnostic and treatment equipment is often poorly maintained, and many medicines are unavailable. Caution should be taken when purchasing medicines locally as counterfeit pharmaceuticals are a common problem and may be difficult to distinguish from genuine medications. This is particularly true of generic medicines purchased at local pharmacies or in street markets. Hospitals often expect immediate cash payment for health services.
Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease. Plasmodium falciparum malaria, the type that predominates in Nigeria, is resistant to the anti-malarial drug chloroquine. Because travelers to Nigeria are at high risk for contracting malaria, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that travelers take one of the following anti-malarial drugs: mefloquine (Lariam™), doxycycline, or atovaquone/proguanil (Malarone™). If you become ill with a fever or flu-like illness while traveling in a malaria-risk area, and up to one year after returning home, you should seek prompt medical attention and tell the physician your travel history and what anti-malarials you have been taking. T
Drinking Water Source - % of rural population improved
49.1%
Drinking Water Source - % of total population unimproved
36%
Drinking Water Source - % of urban population improved
78.8%
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
3.6%
Hospital Bed Density - beds/1,000 population
.53
People Living with HIV/AIDS
3,300,000
Physicians Density - physicians/1,000 population
.4
Diseases - note
highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds
Sanitation Facility Access - % of total population unimproved
72.2%
Sanitation Facility Access - % of urban population improved
30.8%
Sanitation Facility Access - % of rural population improved
24.7%
Infectious Diseases - degree of risk
very high
Animal Contact Disease (s)
rabies
Food or Waterborne Disease (s)
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
Respiratory disease (s)
meningococcal meningitis
Soil contact disease (s)
one of the most highly endemic areas for Lassa fever
Vectorborne Disease (s)
malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever
Water contact disease (s)
leptospirosis and schistosomiasis