Studies on the health of Africans have increased substantially during the past couple of decades. For the most part, these recent studies deal with reproductive health issues, and also HIV/AIDS. One health topic that is rarely addressed in African health research deals with the issue of disability. Not surprisingly, not much is known about prevalence, determinants, and impact of disability among the population. Not only is disability associated with reduced labor force participation, but it has social, economic and political consequences. For instance, due to the stigma associated with disability, disability is often described as a triple jeopardy, particularly among the female elderly. As governments adopt policies and institute programs to ensure the full participation of the population with disability in the society, irrespective of age and sex, they often face the challenge of identifying not only the population with disability, but also the extent and type of disability. There is, therefore, the need to understand the magnitude of the problem in order to develop intervention programs to help the disabled in Africa. Using data from the 1991 population census of Nigeria, the largest source of disability data in that country, we present an overview of disability in the population. Three broad types of disability: 1) sensory limitations, 2) mental and emotional limitations and 3) limitations of physical functioning are examined. The extent of disability among various socio-demographic and regional groups is discussed. The implications of the rapid population growth on future trends of disability and their impact on the support systems and supportive living environments are discussed within the context of current policies and programs. Suggestions for ensuring the full participation of the population with disability in social, economic and political activities in the 21st Century are made.

It has become increasingly evident that sub-Saharan Africa is becoming urbanized, the result of rural-urban migration and also natural increases. According to the available data, Africa’s urban areas have been growing at or above the 5% level during the past 30 years. These demographic shifts and transformations underscore the need for scholars to look at the health needs of Africa’s urban dwellers. Unfortunately this has not always been the case as the emphasis on rural health problems has led to a relative neglect of urban health problems in health research on sub-Saharan African countries. Also, the fact that a large proportion of the limited human and financial resources is allocated to urban health care makes it imperative for health planners to evaluate the effectiveness of the urban health care system. Even though the main causes of disease and death among the majority of the people are preventable, the contemporary health care system reinforces the colonial influence and continues to emphasize curative rather than preventive and urban based rather than rural based practices. This paper first examines the current structural and institutional factors which sustain the current urban health care system. Second, within the context of the rapid rate of urbanization in Africa, the paper assesses how the physical and social environment of urban areas may affect population health and may be contributing to increased diseases and deaths. Third, we examine the adequacy of the urban health care system in responding to emergent pandemics such as HIV/AIDS. The latter is more relevant given the relatively high levels of HIV/AIDS in Africa’s urban centers. Suggestions are made towards the solution of the seemingly intractable and complicated health problems in urban areas of sub-Saharan Africa.