The burden of respiratory disease in Nigeria

Introduction Respiratory disease is a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. In most developing countries including Nigeria, the burden of respiratory disease is largely unknown; however the burden of infectious and non-infectious respiratory disease appears to be on the increase. This article aims to review current available literature on infectious and non-infectious respiratory disease among Nigerians with a view to identifying major causes of morbidity and mortality, and highlighting where gaps in knowledge exist that require new studies for their elucidation. Nigeria is a nation of over 130 million diverse people occupying a land mass of 923 766 km2 . It is the fourth largest exporter of crude oil. Despite the huge gains made over the years from petroleum, the nation’s people are largely impoverished. With a GDP of US$1116 in 2007, Nigeria ranked 165 in the world (South Africa ranked 57 and Malawi 177).1 The percentage of persons living on less than 1US$ per day is 71.2 The under-5 mortality rate was 197/1000 live births in 2007 which is still a far cry from the Millennium Development Goal target of <70/1000 by 2015.2