Disaster Risk Governance and Microbial Infection Transmission in Nigeria: Public Administration Implications

Abstract

Climate change has become an increasingly important factor influencing the emergence and spread of microbial infections, particularly in developing countries with fragile health systems. This review examines the relationship between climate change and emerging microbial infections within Nigerian public health systems, focusing on how rising temperatures, altered rainfall patterns, flooding, drought, and extreme weather events affect pathogen survival, transmission dynamics, and disease distribution. Nigeria’s diverse ecological and climatic zones provide a unique setting in which climate variability reshapes microbial ecology, promotes the emergence of waterborne, foodborne, vector-borne, zoonotic, and respiratory infections, and intensifies seasonal disease outbreaks. Climate-driven environmental changes, including poor water quality, ecosystem disruption, and population displacement, further increase exposure risks and challenge disease prevention and control efforts. These pressures are compounded by existing public health limitations such as inadequate sanitation, weak disease surveillance, limited laboratory capacity, and the growing burden of antimicrobial resistance. The review highlights the implications of climate change for infectious disease surveillance, outbreak preparedness, and healthcare delivery in Nigeria.