ASSESSMENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH IN SOKOTO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Nigeria is one of the countries expected to be most affected by the impact of climate change on health 
aspect through sea level rise, extreme temperature, changes in precipitations and pattern of wind, 
flooding, disasters and general health effect that has now becomes a common sight. Changes in climate 
variability in Nigeria has direct and indirect impact on aspect of human environment, which in turns 
affected aspect of human health and development of some diseases such as lung diseases, cancer, 
cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and water borne diseases among others. the paper aimed at assessing the 
impact of climate variability and climate change on human health, examining the adaptation strategies as 
well as major diseases associated with them. A total number of 220 medical and Para-medical staffs were 
interviewed in Sokoto state using a combination of snowball and purposive sampling techniques 
concerning the impact of climate change and changes of climate variability on human health. The result 
shows that the major diseases caused by the climatic change in Nigeria are lung diseases, allergies 
disorder, eye diseases, respiratory disorder, water borne diseases and skin rashes accounted for 74%. The 
paper recommended some mitigations and adaptation strategies by Reduction of greenhouse gas emission 
from burning of fossil fuels, cutting down of tress, bush burning, emissions from transportation and other 
anthropogenic activities; Plantation of trees to maintain the global circle by removing carbon dioxide 
(co2) from the atmosphere and store it as plant biomass and produce oxygen for human consumption and 
Improvement of cultivation methods will increase agricultural efficiency, reduce the loss of natural 
resources and overcome hunger and malnutrition induced by climate change impact. The paper also 
recommended the creating of adequate public awareness on climate change and its effects on human 
health so that individual, group and community will understand and get well prepared, response to any 
effects induced by climate change and manage it accordingly.