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Environment experts have unveiled a pilot project designed to generate high-quality data that addresses inequalities in infrastructure and healthcare delivery across Nigeria’s informal urban settlements.
The initiative, known as the Integrated Deprived Area Mapping (IDEAMAPS) Data Ecosystem, is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and implemented by an international consortium comprising the African Health and Population Research Centre (Kenya), University of Lagos, University of Twente (Netherlands), University of York (UK), and George Washington University (USA).
IDEAMAPS is co-designed as a participatory data-modelling platform that produces reliable deprived area maps at scale across cities in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The system supports policymakers, researchers, civil society, and communities in planning and decision-making.
At a cross-sectoral dissemination workshop in Abuja, Nigeria’s Coordinator of the Ideamaps Network and Co-Director at the University of Lagos’ Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development, Prof. Peter Elias, said the project was conceived to strengthen data generation, sharing, and application for tackling urban challenges.
According to him, IDEAMAPS has already fostered stronger partnerships among academic institutions, government agencies, civil society groups, and local communities, ensuring co-produced and inclusive evidence for development planning.
“The project is generating new data and enhancing the capacity of stakeholders to better understand and address urban poverty, health, and well-being. Community members and policymakers will now have an improved evidence base and stronger communication networks built on trust,” Elias noted.
The Principal Investigator, Prof. Joao Porto de Albuquerque of the University of Glasgow, highlighted the urgency of the initiative. “Nearly one billion people live in slums and informal settlements globally, and the number is growing. Our aim is to make these areas visible in official data, because without visibility, they remain neglected in planning and investment.”
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, Mrs Esuabuna Asanye, said the project will empower governments to act decisively. “With adequate data, we can work with local authorities to upgrade slums and change the narrative that Africa is destined to become a continent of slums.”
Data shows urban slums are high-risk zones for climate-sensitive diseases such as cholera, malaria, and diarrhoea, as well as extreme weather events like floods and heatwaves. By 2030, the North-West and North-East states, including Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, and Yobe, face the highest vulnerabilities, with a projected 21 per cent rise in disease burden. Flood-related displacement could affect 800,000 people, while sea-level rise and coastal flooding may impact another 550,000 by 2070.
Director of Climate Change and Environmental Health at the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Zakaria Muhammad, stressed Africa’s disproportionate burden. “Our region contributes just 5 per cent of global emissions but bears the heaviest climate-health risks. Temperatures are expected to rise by at least 1°C by mid-century and under extreme scenarios by 3°C, while the share of the population exposed to heat events will quadruple by 2080.”
From case studies in Lagos and Kano, Prof. Taiwo Amole of Bayero University presented findings on healthcare access, emergency obstetrics care, road connectivity, informal housing patterns, and flood hazards. Similarly, Kehinde Baruwa of the University of Lagos urged all tiers of government to invest in local capacity for digital mapping and data-driven service delivery.
He said such investments would promote equity, trust, and accountability in improving infrastructure and healthcare for low-income urban communities.
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