3.6/3.7 Flashcards
What opportunities have been created by Lagos’ rapid growth?
Because of Lagos’ rapid levels of growth, Lagos has a large amount of skilled workers that can fulfil roles in high paying jobs which were created through Lagos’ rapid growth. Jobs offered in Lagos pay on average 4 times more than those in the rural areas surrounding Lagos. Investment in health care and social services, providing people loving in Lagos’ inner city with access to good health care services.
How does the electricity networks available in Lagos improve standard of living?
People are attracted to Lagos because of the superior infrastructure, such as its accessibility to electricity networks. As a result of this, people can use the internet and watch television, whereas in rural areas they do not have this, meaning that migrants can expect to enjoy this luxury.
What problems do the people living in the slums face and how does this affect people living in Lagos as a whole?
The houses in which people in the slums are living in are poorly built and are located in areas with no supplies of clean water or electricity. The unclean water is further polluted by to amount of waste left of areas around the slums because waste collection services do not go to illegally built homes. Crime levels in the slums are high because of such limited resources and low levels of education supplied to the area (people cannot get employed).
Why are there such large gaps in equality in Lagos?
Large inequality has been created in Lagos through the contrast in the skill levels of migrants that come to Lagos seeking a better life. Skilled workers which are able to become employed in high paying jobs in the CBD can consequently afford to live in the inner city, where they will have access to clean water, electricity (taken in turns) and easy travel routes to avoid traffic whilst getting to work. However, lesser skilled workers who can only employ within lower paying jobs and cannot afford to live in the inner cities high end multi-storey apartments must live in poorly constructed homes with no access to clean water or health care services, despite the fact they are at a higher health risk.
Who is trying to prevent the inequality gap closing and why?
Wealthier classes want the government to spend more money improving the lives of the upper class (themselves) rather than more deprived families living in the slums. This isn’t helped by the largely corrupt police force in Nigeria which are constantly bribed by wealthy members of society who can afford to escape the law, whilst leaving poorer communities (with higher levels of crime) to obey the law. Lastly, influential wealthy people of the upper class can have input about investment, using their power to increase or stabilise their companies profits at the cost of improving deprived peoples lives.
How could the Lagos government make investments to reduce the health risks to people in Lagos?
The government could invest in waste clearance services (mainly for the slums) to prevent waste polluting the water supply and prevent it being a vector for disease. As a result, this would decrease the amount of people in the slums who get ill, increasing their average life expectancy as well as contributing to prevent major health epidemics within the slums. Furthermore, investment in hospitals and medical clinics to be set up in and around the slums would provide poorer families with the desperate access they need to health care services to treat injuries or illness caused by external factors of living in the slums (high crime rate, heavy air pollution etc).
What are the benefits of top-down schemes being used to improve Lagos?
One benefit of the use of top-down schemes is that they can be used for large scale projects that NGO’s may not be able to fund that would help a range if people rather than a small local community. An example of this could be improving the water supply so that the majority of Lagos’ population (which live in the slums) will have access to clean water.
What are the benefits of bottom-up schemes being used to improve Lagos?
Bottom-up schemes are aimed st small communities which allow NGO’s to communicate with the people to find out what are the most important issues they face, rather that running a project that may be a minor issue to a certain community and a major one to another. Bottom-up schemes also focus on the sustainability of their projects, which ensures that these small communities they help can continuously use this project down the line.
What are the negatives of top-down and bottom-up schemes, which is more suitable for Lagos and why?
Cost is a major issue for top-down schemes because of the size of the projects (Lagos borrowed $1 billion for world bank to construct a light rail line). However, bottom-up schemes lack the coverage of top-down schemes and several NGO’s could be working towards the same or similar goals with different communities when they could work together (lack of communication). These communities may even undermine some top-down schemes because they are not benefiting them and possibly even harm them (eg: banning small generators). Therefore, bottom-up schemes are more suitable for Lagos.
Name 2 top-down schemes currently in progress in Lagos and who they benefit
In Lagos, the government is working to improve the air quality by banning the import of pollution small electricity generators and encourage the use of one large generator for a community. However, whilst this works to improve the environmental quality for the rich upper class it severely affects the poor communities living in the slums as their illegally built homes do not get supplied with electricity - these generators are their only power source and the slum community cannot afford a large generator.
Secondly, the improvements to the water supply proposed by the government will greatly increase the availability of clean water to the poor. Placed water kiosks allow poor people to buy at lower prices whilst the new water treatment facility which is under construction will provide a large amount of the surround areas with clean water.
Name 2 bottom-up schemes currently in progress in Lagos and who they benefit
Improvements that CHIEF wishes to make to the health care in Lagos will hardly benefit the upper class (they already have good access to health care) because it is mainly aimed at the poorer community. The educational improvements that they will make to educate children about health risks and how to avoid them sill allow later generations to reduce their hospital visits (helps to prevent overwhelming hospitals).
Furthermore, the Oando Foundation seeks to further improve education for the poor by improving the teachers. Higher levels of education that children in the slums will receive (compared to their previous levels) will allow them to earn more money when the grow older because they are more qualified for higher paying jobs.
