An assessment of malaria risk in Koton Karfe watershed catchment, Nigeria

Abstract

This study adopts ground survey and questionnaire administration to determine environmental and socioeconomic
factors contributing to malaria risk in Koton Karfe watershed catchment. A health facilty-based survey
is carried out to assess tbe ratio of population to health facility. The study reveals that poverty is the overriding
risk factor determining the high malaria incidence rate which ranges from 40/1000 per annum to 288/1000 per
annum across watershed catchment and prevelant among infants and school age children. The nearest
neighbour index of 1.48 suggests the randomness in the spatial distribution of health facilities. The increase in
the burden of malaria on the populace may deter the attainment of the millennium development goals (MDGs) if
urgent measures to control it by the govern-ment and private/donor agencies are not initiated.