Effects of Growing Population and Demand for Health Care Services in the Federal Capital City, Abuja

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Ascertaining the actual growth rate of the population is an issue that has generated a lot of arguments amongst various scholars in the process of determining the actual census count. As such, this has had a pronounced effect in the determination of the actual growth rates for different urban populations in the country. But the effect centres much when it comes to accurately determining the major components or the factors contributing to the rapid growth of urban populations. The problem of rapid population growth centres much on its effects on the available basic social services and amenities provided for the people in these areas. Factors such as levels of medical knowledge and services, nutrition, quantity and quality of housing etc. to some extent influence the quality and duration of lives of the people. As such, their importance cannot be overemphasized when dealing with the issue of population growth. The study aims to examine the rate of population growth in the Federal Capital City, Abuja with respect to the available public provision of basic social services among other objectives. The findings from the data obtained from the Population Survey conducted in the city in 1985 show that the health care facilities available in the capital city are grossly inadequate to serve the entire inhabitants of the city. Moreso, the volume of in-migration into the city also compounds the health problems facing the city. The conclusion is that there is need for more resources to be allocated to the health sector to guarantee adequate and functional health care services in the city.