Nigeria - Country Profile
Fact File
- Nigeria
- Area: 356,669 sq miles (923,768 sq. km)
- Capital: Abuja
- Population: 144,720,000 (2005)
- Life expectancy: 48 (m), 49 (w)
- Child mortality (under 5): 191 per 1000
Nigeria has the largest population of any country in Africa, making up one-seventh of the total population of Africa. As a result, Nigeria is incredibly linguistically and ethnically diverse. Located in West Africa, Nigeria is bordered by Benin to the west, Niger to the north, Cameroon to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The terrain varies from coastal swamps and tropical forest in the south, to savannah and semi-desert in the north. The river Niger, the third longest river in Africa, reaches the sea through an extensive Delta of mangrove swamps.
Riders in Nigeria
- Number of staff: 20
- Number of vehicles managed: 50
- Programme Director: Abdulkareem Siyaka
Riders began working in Nigeria in 1999 with the World Health Organisation to help manage its fleet of vehicles involved in the polio eradication programme. In 2006 this contract came to an end and since then Riders has run a maintenance garage and looks after the vehicles used by the UN and other international and local agencies in the capital, Abuja. Riders has its main office in Abuja as well as a regional workshop in Enugu.
In 2004 Riders began the Enugu project which is designed to help at the grassroots of society in Nigeria. Located in the south east of the country, Enugu state has a population of around 2.5million, and a population density of two and a half times the national average. There are many pressing public health concerns, especially malaria, but other infectious yet preventable diseases are rife in the area, including TB, measles and HIV/AIDS.
The pressing health needs of the region mean that there are many non-governmental organisations working in the area. Riders works with the local health workers and community based NGOs as we do in the Gambia and Zimbabwe to provide maintenance so they can reach the rural communities who don’t currently get the regular health care that we take for granted. Riders also helps to manage the vehicles of larger humanitarian organisations, such as UNICEF.
Back to the Interactive Map