COMMUNITY HEALTH, SANITATION AND WATER SUPPLY IN OIL-PRODUCING AREAS OF NIGERIA’S NIGER DELTA REGION: FOCUS ON IMO STATE [current concerns 2-010]

 

14 September 2025  current concerns 2-010 [special edition]

COMMUNITY HEALTH, SANITATION AND WATER SUPPLY IN OIL-PRODUCING AREAS OF NIGERIA’S NIGER DELTA REGION: FOCUS ON IMO STATE
-by Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje / +2348034725905 (WhatsApp) / EMAIL: druzoadirieje2015@gmail.com

 CEO/Programmes Director, Afrihealth Optonet Association (AHOA) – CSOs Network and Think-tank

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I. BACKGROUND

Imo State, located within Nigeria’s Niger Delta Belt of the Eastern region, is one of the country’s recognized oil-producing states. Oil exploration in Imo dates back to the late 1970s, with the discovery of petroleum deposits in areas such as Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta, Oru East, and parts of Owerri West. These communities form the state’s primary oil belt and contribute significantly to Nigeria’s crude oil and gas output. Imo State hosts several oil companies, including multinational and indigenous operators, which manage flow stations, oil wells, and gas facilities across the Niger Delta basin. The oil-producing areas of Imo are rich in hydrocarbons and provide a major source of revenue to the state and the federation. However, like other Niger Delta areas, they face challenges of environmental degradation, oil spills, gas flaring, and underdevelopment. Despite producing substantial wealth, the host communities have long called for greater equity in resource allocation, infrastructural development, and environmental remediation. As a member of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Imo State is entitled to intervention projects aimed at improving living conditions in its oil communities. The state’s oil-producing areas remain central to both Nigeria’s energy security and Imo State’s economic development, making their sustainable management crucial for long-term prosperity of everyone.

II. THE SITUATION ON THE GROUND
The above Communities near oil installations in Imo State typically face four interlinked problems:
1. Unsafe water sources: Oil spills, pipeline leaks and poor waste disposal contaminate surface and groundwater. Many households rely on shallow wells, streams, or unprotected boreholes that are vulnerable to hydrocarbon and microbial contamination.
2. Inadequate sanitation: Limited sewerage systems, poorly constructed latrines, open defecation in some riverine areas, and inadequate solid-waste disposal create persistent environmental health risks—breeding grounds for diarrhoeal diseases, cholera, and parasitic infections.
3. Strained health services: Local primary health care facilities are often under-resourced, with gaps in staff, essential drugs, basic diagnostic capacity and maternal/newborn care. Pollution-linked respiratory and skin conditions add to demand, while livelihoods disruptions reduce households’ ability to pay for care.

4. Limited entrepreneurial spaces: The environmental damages resulting from oil explorations constitute immense hindrance to economic activities especially those relating to the ocean/water and land; since the inhabitants are usually and mainly fishers and farmers.
The above factors combine to worsen child morbidity and mortality, raise maternal health risks, and reduce productivity—creating feedback loops of poverty, poor health, and untimely deaths.

III. PRIMARY HEALTH IMPACTS
1. Respiratory problems and eye irritation: Gas flaring and particulate pollution increase the incidence of coughs, chronic bronchitis and eye irritation.
2. Skin conditions and chemical exposure: Contact with oil-contaminated water or soil can cause dermatitis, rashes and, with long-term exposure, more serious health concerns.
3. Maternal and child health risks: Limited emergency obstetric care and poor transport compound pregnancy risks, while contaminated water and poor sanitation contribute to neonatal infections.
4. Water-borne and enteric diseases: Diarrhoea, typhoid, and hepatitis A are common where drinking water is contaminated or sanitation is poor. Frequent diarrhoeal episodes increase malnutrition in children under five.

IV. PROVEN INTERVENTION PACKAGE
Practical, scalable, and sustainable remedial interventions should blend immediate public-health actions with medium-term infrastructure investments and institutional strengthening. Below are some prioritized, community-centred package of interventions.

1. Emergency and short-term measures (0–6 months)
a. Safe-water emergency supplies: Provide potable water via water-trucking where contamination is acute, distribute household water-treatment kits (chlorine, ceramic filters), and supply jerrycans to reduce recontamination.
b. Risk communication and hygiene promotion: Rapid community campaigns on handwashing, safe water storage, boiling/chemical treatment, and avoiding contaminated water bodies. Use local languages and trusted channels (community leaders, health workers).
c. Mobile clinic outreach: Deploy mobile teams to deliver immunizations, treat common infections, manage diarrhoeal disease, and triage severe cases for referral.
d. Vector control and waste clean-up: Remove solid-waste hotspots and perform targeted vector control to reduce diarrhoeal and mosquito-borne disease transmission.

2. Medium-term infrastructure and service strengthening (6–24 months)
a. Protected water supply systems: Drill and protect boreholes to safe depths, install hand pumps or solar-powered submersible pumps with concrete aprons and drainage. Where possible, develop small piped systems with community water committees and metering to ensure sustainability.
b. Household and communal sanitation: Build improved, ventilated pit latrines or ecosan systems in communities and schools; install public latrines in markets and landing sites; establish desludging services and safe fecal sludge management plans.
c. Rehabilitate and equip PHC facilities: Upgrade health centres with water and sanitation facilities, essential medicines, cold chain for vaccines, basic laboratory diagnostics, and maternal care supplies. Train and retain at least two skilled birth attendants per facility.
d. Community health worker (CHW) programme: Expand CHW networks to deliver home-based care, promote sanitation and water safety, perform community surveillance, and link households to PHC services.

3. Long-term resilience and governance (2–5 years)
a. Integrated water resource management: Map and protect key recharge areas and upstream sources; regulate waste disposal and engage oil operators on buffer zones.
b. Capacity building and local finance: Strengthen local government capacity to manage water and sanitation services; set up community maintenance funds and transparent tariffs where feasible.
c. Health system strengthening and surveillance: Implement routine disease surveillance, digital reporting channels, and emergency preparedness plans that include spill-response health protocols.
d. Environmental health monitoring: Regular testing of water, soil and air with publicly available results; community monitors trained to collect basic samples and report anomalies.

4. Community-centred principles, comprising projects work best when they are participatory and locally accountable:
a. Involve communities in design and monitoring: Community Water Committees and Health Committees should help select sites, set tariffs, and monitor service quality.
b. Use local labour and suppliers: Local procurement and labour create livelihood co-benefits and improve acceptance.
c. Transparent grievance redress: Establish simple, well-publicised complaint channels and track response timelines.

V. SELECTING OUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS TO MEASURE PROGRESS OF THESE INTERVENTIONS:
Professional Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is essential for the realization of the noble intentions of the above interventions. Therefore, the following some selected key performance indicators (KPIs) should be considered in monitoring and measuring the success of the respective interventions as appropriate, to ensure good value for moneys spent:
1. % households with access to safe drinking water within 30 minutes.
2. % households with access to an improved sanitation facility not shared with other households.
3. % households with access to an electric power supply for at least 8 hours every day.

4. % children of school age that are attending fulltime schooling.

5. % adults and out-of-school youths who are gainfully employed

6. % women of childbearing age who give birth in health facilities without financial hardship

7. Immunization coverage rate for children under one in targeted communities.
8. Reduction in reported diarrhoeal incidence among children under five (cases per 1,000).
9. Number of functional PHC facilities with piped water and sanitation.

VI. RISK FACTORS AND CAUTIONS
1. Pollution recurrence: Without stronger environmental controls on oil operations, infrastructure investments risk being undermined by future contamination.
2. Affordability: Even modest tariffs can exclude the poorest; cross-subsidies or targeted subsidies may be necessary.
3. Maintenance culture: Technical systems fail when maintenance is neglected; investments must include training, spare parts supply chains, engagement of locals, and governance structures.

VII. CONCISE RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Rapidly conduct a combined WASH and health needs assessment in affected communities to prioritize interventions.
2. Immediately roll out emergency safe-water and hygiene promotion while planning borehole and sanitation projects.
3. Rehabilitate Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities with a focus on maternal/newborn care, basic eye care services, water and sanitation, cold chain, and basic diagnostics.
4. Create multi-stakeholder oversight committees (community, traditional, religious, local government, oil operators, women groups, NGOs) to coordinate response, finance, and monitoring. This will help create a sense of joint ownership, compelling the communities to also protect iol businesses in their localities.
5. Link remediation commitments by operators to community health and development investments—ensure polluter-pays principles and transparent reporting.

VIII. CONCLUSION
Improving community health, sanitation and water supply in Imo State’s oil-producing areas is technically feasible and socially essential. Success requires combining immediate health protection with medium-term investments and stronger governance. When communities, health systems, local government and the oil sector coordinate transparently—and when affected residents are empowered to oversee services—progress in oil exploration activities and health outcomes can be rapid and enduring.

 

Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje is a seasoned consultant with extensive expertise in global health, climate change, health/community systems strengthening, development planning, project management, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), governance, policy advocacy, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E), based in Nigeria. He provides high-level consultancy services to governments, UN agencies, international organizations, NGOs, and development partners across Africa, leveraging over 25 years of multidisciplinary experience across Africa and the Global South. He was the Chair of Nigeria’s national World Malaria Day Committee in 2019; National President and fellow of the Nigerian Association of Evaluators (NAE) during 2019 – 2022; President of the Civil Society Organizations Strategy Group on SDGs in Nigeria (CSOSG); and Chair of the Resource Mobilization sub-committee of Nigeria’s national World Tuberculosis Day Committee in 2025, etc. He’s currently President of the African Network of Civil Society Organizations (ANCSO), and Chair of the Global Consortium of Civil Society on Climate Change and Conference of Parties (GCSCCC).