Diss. Stockholm : Stockholms universitet, 2007.

The planned Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria - Abuja is the context of this research. Abuja was conceived and conceptualised under a Master Plan designed by Kenzo Tange and Utec to replace Lagos as the new Capital City for the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1977. This came about because of the unstructured and unplanned facilities characteristically evident in buildings, communities and some critical infrastructure in Lagos. These have combined, with the rapid rates of urbanisation, and relative to lack of supporting infrastructure and services, to render Lagos as one of the most overcrowded and dysfunctional cities in the world. Housing shortages, urban sprawl, traffic congestion, overburdened and dilapidating physical infrastructures and services, and poor quality environment have become the defining characteristics of Lagos. These were the issues that forced the idea of relocating the Capital City elsewhere in the country that resulted in Abuja’s selection as the New Capital City for Nigeria in 1977. Kenzo Tange Associates, an authority in urban design was appointed that resulted in a Master Plan to guide the development of the new city. The resultant Master Plan was designed with the specific peculiarities of Lagos in mind to avoid reoccurrence, although, the concept of environmental sustainability and development was not the preoccupation of urban design and planning in the 1970s, Abuja Master Plan incorporated the concepts, principles, and practice of sustainable development today. Nevertheless, the implementation of the Abuja Master Plan has drawn consternation from built environment professionals. Anecdotal evidences exist to suggest that Abuja is rapidly incubating all the urban problems experienced in Lagos in the 1970s. Sequel to the above therefore, this thesis aims to develop a conceptual framework that will enable Abuja develop into a 21st century functional and resilient City of sustainable communities. The view pushed in this thesis is that not only does sustainable approach to design, implementation and management of urban communities holds huge capacity for bridging urban inequalities and prudent resource management; it holds the key to the survival of cities. The main aim of the research; to produce a conceptual framework to guide the development of Abuja Capital Territory into a 21st Century City of Sustainable Communities. To accomplish this aim, a mixed method of research methodology has been used for data gathering, an approach informed by the epistemological and ontological positioning of the researcher. Data obtained were analysed using the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSSx) and the results resulted in a conceptual model illustrating ‘the road map’ to sustainable community development approach to Abuja in becoming a 21st century sustainable city. The study has successfully highlighted and resolved key issues centred around the sustainability of Abuja. It has also answered fundamental questions of whether Abuja can, and how it can develop into a 21st Century City of Sustainable Communities. Therefore, it is expected that the conceptual framework which is the outcome of this research becomes a reference manual to both urban decision makers, built environment professionals, and other stakeholders in planning the development of Abuja Capital Territory into a 21st Century City of Sustainable Communities.

The study sought to describe HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitude among teachers in Abuja, Nigeria. The study noted that teachers were knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS and poor HIV/AIDS attitude persist. Among the respondents, statistically significant relationship exist between education qualification and knowledge of MTCT of HIV during pregnancy; between geographic location and the knowledge to clarify misconception about HIV transmission; between gender and the knowledge of condom use; and between the receipt of HIV/AIDS information or training on FLHE curriculum and the procedural knowledge of discussing / teaching sexuality and HIV/AIDS issues with fellow teachers or students. However, there is no statistical significant relationship between the teachings of HIV/AIDS issues and the feeling that HIV/AIDS education promotes sexual promiscuity. / Health Studies / MA (Public Health)

The study sought to describe HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitude among teachers in Abuja, Nigeria. The study noted that teachers were knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS and poor HIV/AIDS attitude persist. Among the respondents, statistically significant relationship exist between education qualification and knowledge of MTCT of HIV during pregnancy; between geographic location and the knowledge to clarify misconception about HIV transmission; between gender and the knowledge of condom use; and between the receipt of HIV/AIDS information or training on FLHE curriculum and the procedural knowledge of discussing / teaching sexuality and HIV/AIDS issues with fellow teachers or students. However, there is no statistical significant relationship between the teachings of HIV/AIDS issues and the feeling that HIV/AIDS education promotes sexual promiscuity. / Health Studies / MA (Public Health)

This dissertation is concerned with the implementation process for housing in Nigeria's new capital at Abuja. It explores the inability of the Nigerian government to provide affordable housing for all income groups in the new capital as was originally planned. Based on nominal income, no resident in the city can afford to pay market rents for the housing provided, and less than 15 per cent of wage earners in the civil service (not to mention irregular wage earners in the informal sector) can afford the least expensive houses provided if they were unsubsidized. The purpose of this study is both to elucidate factors contributing to policy performances and the imperfect correspondence between policy goals and outcomes in developing countries, and to raise basic policy issues pertaining to housing provision in the new capital. The main hypothesis tested is that of Van Meter and Van Horn (1975) who maintain that the outcome of public policy is ultimately determined by the disposition of implementing officials. While recognizing that the gap in the provision of housing in the new capital can be related to a host of factors including financial constraints in the face of apparently unlimited demand, the argument is developed that the disjunction is due primarily to the disposition of policy officials in Abuja, which has been to build a high-class, western-type administrative capital. Premised on this belief, the dissertation then argues that policy officials perceive medium- and high-cost housing to be more germane to the image of the new capital than low-cost dwellings affordable by the low-income population. Consequently, tastes and preferences in housing were in favor of the sophisticated western type of house design, material and layout, which meant that housing delivery strategies in the city were not based on the nature of the local demand and available resources. To look for evidence in support of this hypothesis, the dissertation first determines the disposition of officials towards the Abuja project. The findings leave no doubt that Abuja was not to be just a western inspired alternative to the former capital of Lagos, but rather a visionary sort rescue from the latter's intractable problems. It then relates this disposition to the current housing situation in the city, through effects on the planning/implementation process. The conclusion to emerge is that the disposition of policy officials greatly influences implementation outcome regardless of planning intentions, and that the wider framework proposed by Van Meter and Van Horn (1975) is an effective way of focusing research on factors that impinge on policy performance. A related conclusion is that the essentially western model of implementation proposed by Van Meter and Van Horn applies with equal, if not more, validity to the developing world where past explanations for the problems of implementation have tended to focus on such variables as: (1) financial resources; (2) administrative and technical know-how; (3) imported theories and technologies; and (4) indigenous regime or political characteristics. However, the unique politico-administrative context of policy remains a crucial factor. In light of the fact that the key to improved affordability is not sophistication, and that the goal of providing low-cost housing in the new capital would ultimately require non-western standards and styles of delivery, the chief pragmatic implication of the study is that a dispositional change to encourage a more "Nigerian" city is a precondition for a successful housing strategy in the new capital. This means discarding the current imported development practices in the city and replacing them with a more functional orientation based on the nature of the local demand for dwellings. A more "Nigerian" city is one in which the majority of housing and related services are accessible by the average citizen, whether in the civil service or not. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The purpose of the study was to assess the level of knowledge about glaucoma among the patients who attend the CBN staff eye clinic in Abuja. An exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted on adult CBN staff members and their eligible dependants. Data on demographics and knowledge of glaucoma were collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. One hundred and forty five respondents (100% return) participated in the study. Purposive sampling was done to recruit respondents. Of the total respondents’, 74.5% (n=108) claimed they had heard about glaucoma but only 14.5% (n = 21) had knowledge about glaucoma. Glaucoma knowledge was found to be independent of age, sex, ethnicity, educational level and respondents’ status within the CBN. Knowledge about glaucoma in this population is therefore according to the results, inadequate. Appropriate recommendations were made to improve glaucoma knowledge amongst patients who attend the clinic. / Health Studies

The purpose of the study was to assess the level of knowledge about glaucoma among the patients who attend the CBN staff eye clinic in Abuja. An exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted on adult CBN staff members and their eligible dependants. Data on demographics and knowledge of glaucoma were collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. One hundred and forty five respondents (100% return) participated in the study. Purposive sampling was done to recruit respondents. Of the total respondents’, 74.5% (n=108) claimed they had heard about glaucoma but only 14.5% (n = 21) had knowledge about glaucoma. Glaucoma knowledge was found to be independent of age, sex, ethnicity, educational level and respondents’ status within the CBN. Knowledge about glaucoma in this population is therefore according to the results, inadequate. Appropriate recommendations were made to improve glaucoma knowledge amongst patients who attend the clinic. / Health Studies

Background Plasmodium falciparum malaria during pregnancy poses a substantial risk to mother and foetus. In recent years, convincing evidence has shown that preventive methods such as the use of insecticide treated bed nets (ITNs) and intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) in pregnancy with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-sp) can greatly reduce the adverse effects of malaria during pregnancy. Purpose The main purpose of the study was to assess the knowledge and use of Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria among pregnant women receiving Antenatal Care at the primary health centers of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja Nigeria. Methods A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted Structured questionnaires were administered to 300 pregnant women aged between 18 and 49 years. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 22. Results The results revealed that most of the respondents had knowledge about IPT, majority of the respondents had received IPT drugs, in the clinic, but unfortunately none of them were supervised by a health worker during taking of the drug. Few of the respondents did not take the drugs at all for fear of complication, some of them did not know exactly how many tablets were given to them and there was poor adherence to the Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) scheme. Conclusion Knowledge of malaria and IPT was good and many pregnant women received the drugs and used it, but some of them had challenges and did not use the drugs. / Health Studies / M.P.H.

This study investigated the factors influencing the utilisation of PMTCT of HIV services and proposed measures to promote service utilisation by HIV positive pregnant women in the FCT, Abuja, Nigeria. Effective interventions exist that can reduce the transmission of HIV infection to the baby. The study is a quantitative descriptive one, with 190 HIV positive pregnant women from 20 health Centres in three area councils in Abuja, who were interviewed using structured questionnaire to get their opinion. The findings revealed that the majority (90.4%) of the respondents were aware of PMTCT and how HIV can be transmitted from mother-to-child. The respondents (95.9%) were of the opinion that all pregnant women should be tested. Notably, PMTCT services will be hindered by the following: permission from spouse before being tested, couple counselling not done, group post test counselling, non-incorporation of family planning and low support group enrolment. Recommendations made include emphasis on couple counselling, confidentiality and friendly environment / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

This study investigated the factors influencing the utilisation of PMTCT of HIV services and proposed measures to promote service utilisation by HIV positive pregnant women in the FCT, Abuja, Nigeria. Effective interventions exist that can reduce the transmission of HIV infection to the baby. The study is a quantitative descriptive one, with 190 HIV positive pregnant women from 20 health Centres in three area councils in Abuja, who were interviewed using structured questionnaire to get their opinion. The findings revealed that the majority (90.4%) of the respondents were aware of PMTCT and how HIV can be transmitted from mother-to-child. The respondents (95.9%) were of the opinion that all pregnant women should be tested. Notably, PMTCT services will be hindered by the following: permission from spouse before being tested, couple counselling not done, group post test counselling, non-incorporation of family planning and low support group enrolment. Recommendations made include emphasis on couple counselling, confidentiality and friendly environment / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)