An Assessment of Geographic Disparities in Child Welfare and Nutritional Wellbeing in Kogi State, Nigeria: A Qualitative Inquiry
Child undernutrition remains a persistent public health challenge in Nigeria, with geographic disparities in access to health and nutrition services identified as a key structural driver of poor outcomes among children under five. This study assessed how geographic disparities influence children’s welfare and nutritional wellbeing in Kogi State, Nigeria, identified the barriers preventing vulnerable households from accessing available services, and proffered social work intervention strategies responsive to those barriers. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory provided the theoretical foundation for the study. An exploratory qualitative research design was adopted, with seven key informants selected through purposive sampling from among state and Local Government level officers holding direct professional oversight of child health, nutrition, and welfare services in Kogi State. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview guide and analysed thematically, with verbatim responses attributed to assigned codes to protect confidentiality. Findings revealed that geographic disadvantage operates through divergent mechanisms rather than as a uniform rural deficit, with rural households constrained principally by physical access to services through distance, flooded roads, and transport cost, while the urban poor were constrained principally by affordability despite the proximity of the same services. Four barriers to access recurred across the accounts, namely transport cost, absence of documentation such as birth registration, stigma, and unawareness of existing programmes, while cultural belief was consistently declined as an explanation. The study concludes that child welfare deficits in Kogi State reflect the failure of linkage between households and the institutions meant to serve them, and recommends differentiated rural and urban service delivery, reform of social protection targeting, and a strengthened social work role in identifying and linking vulnerable families to available support.
