Climate Change, Freshwater Ecosystem Degradation and Emerging Disease Risks in Nigeria: A One Health Review of Malaria, Cholera and Schistosomiasis
Halima Usman Nasir
Department of Biology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
Abdulaziz Adamu Ali
Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, Bayero University Kano, Kano, Nigeria.
Mohammed Mallam Mohammed
Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Yobe State University, Damaturu, Nigeria.
Hafizu Muhammed
State Key Laboratory of Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, 150069, China.
Samson Tesfaye Gebre
Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, Unit of Health Biotechnology, University of Calabria, Calabria, Italy.
Nanzip Freeman Miri
Department of Information Technology and Health informatics, Federal University of Health Sciences Ila-Orangun, Osun State, Nigeria.
Muhammad Kabir Usman *
Department of Physics and Environmental Science, Sharda University, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Malaria, cholera and schistosomiasis remain major public health concerns in Nigeria, and their transmission is closely connected with freshwater ecosystems. This review examined how climate change, hydrological regime shifts and freshwater ecosystem degradation may influence the epidemiology of these three diseases within a One Health framework. A structured narrative review was conducted using literature published between 2010 and 2026, with emphasis on studies from 2018 onwards. Searches covered PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar, and were supplemented by institutional reports from national and international agencies. The review included 147 peer-reviewed publications and 18 policy or institutional reports. Evidence from the reviewed literature indicates that rising temperatures, increasingly variable rainfall, flooding, drought and altered river flow regimes affect vector habitats, pathogen persistence and human exposure patterns. Malaria risk is linked to changing thermal suitability and the expansion or persistence of Anopheles breeding habitats after rainfall and flooding. Cholera risk is amplified where heavy rainfall, flooding and inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure increase faecal contamination of water sources and support environmental persistence of Vibrio cholerae. Schistosomiasis transmission is influenced by the temperature-dependent ecology of Bulinus and Biomphalaria snails, irrigation expansion and post-flood freshwater habitat dynamics. The review also identifies important governance and surveillance gaps, including limited integration of disease reporting with meteorological, hydrological and environmental monitoring. A coordinated One Health approach, supported by climate-sensitive surveillance, ecosystem-based interventions, WASH investment and intersectoral policy implementation, is needed to address the overlapping disease risks associated with Nigeria’s changing freshwater environments.
Keywords: Malaria, cholera, schistosomiasis, climate change, freshwater ecosystems, hydrological regimes, One Health, Nigeria, water, sanitation and hygiene, vector-borne disease, waterborne disease