Poverty in Lagos is not just about money – here’s why

Lagos is The economic power of Nigeriabut it has some certainty worst slums in the country.

Lagos slums are characterized by high levels of poverty – a state of lack of sufficient resources to meet the basic needs of life such as food, water, shelter, health care and education.

Poverty is multidimensional. It’s not just about money. However, poverty in Lagos slums has often been studied using customary methods that focus mainly on income thresholds. A person is considered impoverished if his or her income falls below a certain level. This approach takes into account financial difficulties. However, it ignores other aspects of poverty, such as lack of access to education, health care, immaculate water and decent living conditions.

Measuring poverty requires: multidimensional approachand not simply income approach. Multidimensional poverty means looking at all aspects of poverty to get a fuller picture of what it means to live in poverty. It helps policymakers and researchers understand that even with a certain income, a person may still struggle because they lack other necessary services.

IN test poverty in the slums of Lagos State, two other development economists and I used a mathematical framework to model multidimensional poverty. We used the so-called fuzzy set approach. It was developed in the 1990s as an alternative to purely monetary measures of poverty.

The traditional monetary approach often classifies people as “impoverished” or “non-poor” based on specific cut-off points. In fact, poverty covers a wide spectrum, and people may experience different levels of poverty in different aspects of their lives. A fuzzy set approach explains this by assigning membership grades to different poverty rates.

Using a multidimensional index, we found significant differences in poverty rates in slums in Lagos State. Our insights will enable economists and policymakers to see the different ways in which people in slums are deprived. This, in turn, should assist them understand how to improve their lives in a more focused and effective way.

Context and methodological approach

Our study focused on five enormous slums located close to the coastline in Lagos State. They belong to the slums World Bank decided to upgrade as part of a $200 million loan project to improve water drainage and solid waste management.

We selected 400 respondents from five slums: Makoko, Iwaya, Ilaje, Ijora Badia and Amukoko.

According to Avijit Hazra and Nithya J. Gogtaybiostatistics and research methodology researchers, a minimum of 384 samples is appropriate for a enormous population. Nevertheless, the sample selected for this study limits the generalizability of the results to other slums, especially those with different characteristics.

Arrangements

The multidimensional poverty rate was highest in Makoko and Iwaya. These results indicate severe poverty as they exceed the 0.50 threshold.

In contrast, Amukoko had the lowest multidimensional poverty rate, showing relatively less severe deprivation across all indicators.

Makoko and Iwaya are particularly impoverished in areas such as education, sanitation and nutrition. This explains the higher level of poverty compared to other communities.

Makoko’s location on the coast, with makeshift buildings and impoverished infrastructure, increases its vulnerability. Iwaya faces similar challenges in education and health care. These factors make both areas more deprived than other slums.

Of the three broad dimensions of poverty measured, education was found to be the most deprived in all communities. This highlighted the constrained formal education among residents.

In particular, Makoko and Iwaya showed the greatest deprivation at school. Despite some improvements, particularly in child enrollment, these communities still face severe deprivation.

The second dimension characterized by severe deprivation was the standard of living. There were differences in different slums. Makoko and Iwaya had greater sanitation challenges.

The third dimension in the severe deprivation category was health. Indicators included mortality and nutrition. They were high in many slums, contributing significantly to their multidimensional poverty rates.

Other communities such as Amukoko (0.0312) showed better sanitation performance. On the other hand, indicators for electricity, flooring and cooking fuel generally showed lower levels of poverty, with most slums scoring around 0.03 or below in these categories.

The occurrence of both stern and minor diseases combined with insufficient medical care contributed to high mortality.

Impoverished sanitation can also cause health problems. In Makoko and Iwaya, toilets and waste management were impoverished, and waste was often dumped into waterways.

Despite this, personal hygiene practices such as using immaculate water, soap, and regular brushing were common. This helped keep the sanitation index relatively low compared to other factors that affect health.

Other slums had relatively better organized garbage collection systems and generally better sanitation practices.

What should be done

Policymakers should prioritize education-focused initiatives. This should include improving access to high-quality schools, providing scholarships and creating adult literacy programs.

The study also highlighted sanitation challenges, especially in Makoko and Iwaya. There is a need to improve infrastructure in these areas, such as better sanitation, waste management systems and access to immaculate water.

Policies should focus on improving sanitation services to reduce health risks and improve living conditions.

However, differences in poverty rates across slums indicate different levels of poverty, suggesting that a one-size-fits-all approach will not be effective.

Coastal slums such as Makoko and Iwaya require more intensive interventions compared to slums located directly on the coastal lines such as Amukoko.

Policymakers should focus resources where they are needed most to have the greatest impact.

Slums such as Ilaje and Ijora Badia are close to the extreme poverty line. Policymakers must take proactive action to prevent the severe deprivation of these communities.

Finally, it is significant to operate data to identify priority areas and develop targeted interventions to improve the quality of life of slum dwellers.

Rather than relying on generalized approaches, findings from this study can facilitate the design of specific policies that address the distinct needs of each community.