No abstract

Of recent, significant development in the use of public private partnership in providing infrastructural facilities has become a new policy initiative in many countries, Nigeria inclusive. This became necessary in view of the inadequacy of existing infrastructures to cope with the demands of the urban dwellers due to the inability of the government at various levels to provide and maintain urban infrastructures which are essential ingredients of economic development of the nation. Apart from the acute shortages of these infrastructures, the available ones are witnessing a reverse revolutionary trend from the situation of inadequacies to that of dearth or outright decay. This paper therefore focuses on the state of infrastructural facilities in Nigeria, with a view to providing a framework that will ensure their provision and sustainability. The paper went on to trace the historical antecedent of infrastructure development and provision in Nigeria and the current efforts of government through the application of public private partnership (PPP) in infrastructural facilities provision. Factors militating against the provision and maintenance of these infrastructures were identified. The paper concluded that policy measures should be put in place by the government in form of appropriate legislation and regulations that will create a conducive environment for private operators and other stakeholders to ensure effective and efficient partnerships that will promote the provision of urban infrastructure.

This paper examines the socio-economic characteristics of residents and their utilization of available healthcare facilities in Owo local government area of Ondo State, Nigeria. The data utilized in the paper draws on systematic sampling of 368 health consumers in the study area. Findings revealed that socio-economic characteristics play a significant role in determining the frequency of visits to healthcare facilities, this is substantiated with the chi-square test result that revealed a significant relationship between marital status and frequency of visits to healthcare facilities with χ² = 29.175 and significant at p = 0.004 level, as well as income of households and the frequency of visits to healthcare facilities with χ² = 20.961 and significant at p = 0.007 levels. The paper therefore concluded that efforts should be put in place to improve the socio-economic status of individuals through multi-sectoral development activities such as micro-credit facilities and provision of employment opportunities which is believed will invariably improve their access and utilization of healthcare facilities.

This study examined domestic energy usage and its health implication on residents of Ese-Odo and Okitipupa Local Government Areas (LGA), of Ondo State. Systematic random sampling was used to select 103 and 156 respondents in Ese-Odo and Okitipupa LGA, respectively. It was established that environmental and socioeconomic related attributes influenced residents' choice of domestic energy type. Similarly, burns, blindness, stroke, cataract and pulmonary diseases were the most prevalent self-reported ill-health. A relatively weak correlation between domestic energy usage and ill-health is experienced by the residents. Therefore, the study concluded that the use of traditional energy types had significant adverse effects on the health of the residents in Okitipupa and Ese-Odo LGAs of Ondo State. K E Y W O R D S domestic energy usage, health of residents, households' energy, self-reported ill-health of energy for cooking, heating, and lighting (Kowsari & Zerriffi, 2011). Such traditional biomass fuels are widely used particularly in developing countries. For instance, Onoja (2012) argued that evidence from China has shown that there are considerable numbers of households that are stick to traditional biomass fuel use despite their access to

This article assessed community participation in the provision of environmental sanitation infrastructure in Akure, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was employed for the study. Four residential zones: the traditional core, the transition zone, the peripheral zone and the public housing district were identified, this was with a view to showcasing the variation in the level of contributions and efforts of different communities based on the delineated areas towards the provision of environmental sanitation infrastructure in the study area. Twenty residential areas were identified across the residential zones of the study area out of which ten areas which represented 50% of the total areas were selected. Ten percent of the total number of buildings in the selected areas were subsequently sampled, resulting in the selection of 180 residents for questionnaire administration. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics with frequency used for univariate analysis and cross tabulation for bivariate and multivariate analysis as well as the use of chi-square for inferential statistics. Findings revealed that community participation did not play a leading role in providing environmental sanitation facilities in Akure, but that the government did. This shows that most of the environmental facilities in the area are provided by the government, thus revealing the overdependence of the residents on the government for the provision of environmental sanitation infrastructure. Further findings revealed that most of the challenges faced in the study area in terms of providing environmental sanitation infrastructure had a significant influence on the provision of these facilities. Thus, the study showed that challenges significantly hindered the provision of environmental sanitation facilities in the area.