Health
Inside Lagos communities where poverty steals children’s futures
Children in Ijora-Badia and Ago-Egun communities in Lagos are growing up amid displacement, poverty and unhealthy living conditions, with many lacking access to shelter, clean water, sanitation, healthcare and adequate nutrition. IYANUOLUWA ABIOLA reports
Five-year-old Darasimi should be spending his days chasing footballs across sandy paths and laughing with other children in his neighbourhood.
Instead, his early years have been shaped by displacement, recurring illness and harsh living conditions after his family lost their home to demolition in a waterfront settlement in Gangare, Ijora-Badia, a densely populated community within the Apapa-Iganmu Local Council Development Area of Lagos.
For months, Darasimi, his siblings and their mother, Esther, moved from one shop to another, seeking temporary shelter wherever they could find space to sleep.
The homelessness exposed the children to cold nights, heavy rains, and conditions that quickly took a toll on their health.
“When our house got demolished at Gangare in December 2025, my children and I started living in different shops. During that period, it was raining heavily and my second child became very sick,” Esther, a petty trader, recalled.
Esther and her children, who have been squatting from one shop to another in the area, told PUNCH Healthwise during a visit to the community by our correspondent that many nights were spent half-awake, constantly alert to avoid being driven away.
“Sometimes we would wake up in the middle of the night because we did not want people to know we slept there. By morning, we were still tired because we had not slept well,” she said.
For Darasimi, the exposure soon led to illness.
“Ever since that period, my son has always been sick. I have spent a lot of money treating him. Surviving after our displacement has been difficult for my children,” Esther lamented.
Persistent cough
The petty trader told our correspondent that health workers linked her son’s persistent cough to prolonged exposure to cold and damp conditions.
Beyond illness, displacement disrupted every aspect of her children’s lives, from feeding to schooling.
“When we were moving from place to place, I could not cook. We were buying food because my stove and even our bed had been stolen,” she said.
She added quietly, “I could not even buy toys for my children. Most times, they just play by themselves.”
Flooding, unsafe water disrupt schooling
For Darasimi, illness is only part of the crisis.
The instability following his family’s displacement disrupted his education, sleep and daily routine, all of which are essential for healthy development.
Esther said heavy rainfall and unstable living conditions kept her son out of school for weeks.
“The rain stopped my son from going to school for more than two weeks. Even after the demolition, he still could not attend because we had nowhere stable to stay,” she said.
She explained that without a proper home, maintaining a routine became difficult.
“I want my children to go to school and succeed. Even if I have to use my feeding money, I will send them,” she added.
Access to safe water remains a daily struggle.
“We do not have clean drinking water. We buy sachet water to drink and another type for cooking,” she said.
She recalled times when the family fell ill after eating food prepared with available water.
“There were times we cooked and everyone started purging,” she said.
Darasimi’s experience reflects that of many children growing up in the area, where poverty and poor housing conditions are shaping childhoods in ways that threaten both survival and development.
Findings by our correspondent revealed that many of the children are not only impoverished and malnourished but are also battling health challenges such as incessant coughing and catarrh. During the visit, our correspondent saw many of them with runny noses.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, children living in environments with unsafe water, poor sanitation and unstable housing face higher risks of disease, malnutrition and disrupted development, especially in their early years.
Unhealthy environment
Similarly, a visit to the Ago-Egun community in Ilaje, Bariga Local Council Development Area of the state, showed that Darasimi and his siblings are not alone, as many children in the community are also struggling with poverty to survive.
The community revealed a settlement where children are surrounded by environmental and health risks that experts say can have lasting consequences.
Our correspondent also observed during the visit that many of the children are battling rashes and other skin conditions. Many of them have rashes all over their body, no doubt due to the filthy environment and lack of access to good nutrition, clothing, and proper shelter.
The stench of stagnant water and decomposing waste filled the air as children moved through narrow, muddy pathways between makeshift homes built with wood, tarpaulin, and scrap materials.
Despite these conditions, children, many between the ages of five and nine, played freely, some barefoot, their laughter echoing through the crowded settlement.
Findings by PUNCH Healthwise revealed that a lot of the children are not going to school despite the megacity status of Lagos State.
Our correspondent gathered that there were children in the community who have lost both parents or either of them and are not getting the support of family members to get the care they need. Some of these children live with their grandmothers and grandfathers who are unable to take care of themselves, let alone their grandchildren.
Behind the scenes, however, troubling realities were evident.
Their poor health condition is not helped by their exposure to the cold weather, with many of them seen by our correspondent moving around the community without clothes, pants, and footwear.
A young girl, believed to be about five years old, was seen defecating directly into a water channel before rinsing her hands in the same water and returning to play.
Moments later, another child fetched water from the same channel and poured it into a nearby wooden boat where other children were gathered.
Elsewhere in the community, a mother, Blessing, was treating her young daughter for what she described as malaria using drugs purchased from a nearby shop, without medical testing or supervision. The child lay weak on a wooden bench, her body hot with fever.
Not far away, another girl with visible rashes on her arms and legs was being treated with a locally prepared herbal mixture. The substance, applied directly to her skin, had left parts of her body discoloured.
Residents said such practices are common because of poverty and limited access to proper healthcare.
Across the settlement, stagnant greenish water collected between homes, while heaps of refuse lined walkways. Food was prepared close to these contaminated areas, raising concerns about hygiene and disease transmission.
Residents also said wastewater from households is often discharged into surrounding channels, some of which are later used for fishing.
Health experts warn that such environments significantly increase children’s exposure to infections, especially where access to clean water and sanitation is limited.
The World Health Organisation has repeatedly warned that children living in flood-prone and unsanitary environments face higher risks of diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory infections and mosquito-borne illnesses such as malaria.
Multiple health threats
A consultant paediatrician, Dr Abdurrazzaq Alege, said children living in overcrowded and poorly sanitised environments face serious health risks because their immune systems are still developing.
“Children in such environments are at risk of respiratory infections, tuberculosis, measles and other communicable diseases, especially where overcrowding makes transmission easier,” he said.
He explained that flooding worsens the situation.
“When flood water mixes with sewage, children who come into contact with contaminated water are exposed to diarrhoea, typhoid fever and other waterborne diseases,” he added.
Alege also warned that stagnant water creates breeding grounds for mosquitoes, increasing malaria risk.
Linking this to cases observed in the community, he cautioned against treating malaria without proper diagnosis.
“Not every fever is malaria. Treating children at home without testing can delay correct diagnosis and worsen their condition,” he said.
He stressed that repeated illness can have long-term effects.
“When children fall sick frequently, they may lose appetite, become weak, and their growth can be affected. Some may develop malnutrition or stunted growth over time,” he added.
Public health experts warn that unsafe water, poor hygiene and repeated illness can affect children’s growth, learning ability and overall development.
According to UNICEF, access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene is essential for children’s survival and development.
Unsafe practices and poor environment fuel disease burden
Professor Tanimola Akande, a public health expert, said the conditions in these communities create ideal pathways for disease transmission.
“Children are exposed to malaria, diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory infections and skin conditions. Because of their vulnerability, the impact is more severe,” he said.
He also raised concerns about unsafe treatment practices.
“Self-medication and unregulated herbal treatments, especially for children, can worsen health conditions or delay proper care,” he warned.
Malnutrition threatens growth and brain development
Olusola Malomo, Assistant Director of Dietetics at the Lagos State Health Service Commission, said poor nutrition is worsening the health crisis among children in these communities.
“When children do not get adequate nutrients, their immunity becomes low. They fall sick more often, and recovery takes longer,” he said.
He explained that poor nutrition and repeated infections create a dangerous and continuous cycle.
“Poor nutrition increases the risk of infections, while infections reduce appetite and nutrient absorption. Over time, this can lead to malnutrition and affect growth,” he said.
Malomo added that many families in low-income, flood-prone communities struggle to provide balanced diets for their children, often relying on cheaper foods that lack essential nutrients.
“In many of these homes, children are not getting enough protein, vitamins and minerals needed for proper development. Diets are often high in carbohydrates but low in nutrients that support growth and immunity,” he explained.
He also pointed out that poor feeding practices during early childhood can have irreversible effects.
“The first few years of life are critical. If a child does not receive proper nutrition during this period, the damage can be long-lasting,” he said.
According to him, the consequences go beyond physical growth.
“Malnutrition does not only affect a child’s height or weight. It also affects brain development, learning ability and overall cognitive function,” he added.
Malomo stressed that improving child nutrition requires both awareness and access.
“Parents need proper nutrition education, but they also need economic support. Without access to affordable, nutritious food, it becomes very difficult to break the cycle,” he emphasized.
Children in slums, riverine areas not left behind – Lagos
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government has said children living in slums, riverine and other hard-to-reach communities are not being left behind in its healthcare interventions.
Speaking exclusively to PUNCH Healthwise on Lagos’ efforts to promote childhood survival, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Dr Ibrahim Mustafa, said the government regularly conducts health outreaches to communities like Ago-Egun in Bariga, Ijora-Badia, among others to ensure that children receive essential healthcare services.
He said the outreaches were being sponsored by the government and its partners, with a focus on reaching children who may have difficulty accessing conventional health facilities.
“These outreaches are sponsored by the government and also by partners. Currently, some of our partners, with the primary healthcare board, supported by the government, are having outreaches in these areas that you have mentioned, which we do regularly to ensure that these children are reached and vaccinated,” Mustafa said.
He added that the outreach programmes go beyond immunisation, as children are also provided with medication and other essential healthcare services.
“For us, we do these outreaches and give them drugs. We just finished what we call an MCH Week, that is, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week, which is aimed at ensuring that these children get vaccinated. And aside from being vaccinated, they are also given all the other drugs that they will need,” the PHCB boss said.
Mustafa noted that the government had adopted different strategies to reach children in communities that are difficult to access by road.
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