Welcome to Day 1 of our #30DayMapChallenge series! Each day in November, we’ll explore a different facet of Nigeria’s spatial story through maps, data, and analysis.
Today’s theme: Points
AT A GLANCE:
- 40,821 health facilities (2019 National Registry) visualized using GRID3 v2.0 geospatial data1
- Stark disparities between urban and rural healthcare access revealed through spatial analysis
- Every point matters: Each dot represents a critical node in Nigeria’s healthcare system
- Interactive exploration: Click any facility to see its type, ownership, and location
Reading time: 4 minutes | Map Challenge Day: 1 of 30 | Theme: Points
The Map: Where Care Meets Geography
Every point on this map tells a story. A tertiary hospital in Lagos serving millions. A rural health post in Sokoto, the only facility within 30 kilometers. A primary health centre in Anambra, understaffed but indispensable.
Data Source: GRID3 NGA - Health Facilities v2.0 | Nigeria Health Facility Registry (HFR)
Dataset Citation: Center for Integrated Earth System Information (CIESIN), Columbia University 2024. GRID3 NGA - Health Facilities v2.0. New York: GRID3. https://doi.org/10.7916/kv1n-0743
Note: This is a non-exhaustive, non-validated geographic representation. Click any point to explore facility details.
How to Explore This Map
- Try the Heatmap view to see healthcare density hotspots across Nigeria
- Zoom in to explore individual facilities and their exact locations
- Click any facility for detailed information including type, ownership, and administrative location
- Use the toggle buttons (top left) to switch between heatmap and points visualization
Best viewed on desktop for the full interactive experience. On mobile, use pinch-to-zoom to navigate.
By the Numbers
Facility Distribution by Type (2019 National Registry):2
- Primary Health Centres: 34,675 (85%)
- Secondary Hospitals: 5,780 (14%)
- Tertiary Hospitals: 166 (0.4%)
- Other facilities: ~200 (0.6%)
State-Level Distribution: The GRID3 v2.0 dataset reveals significant geographic disparities, with Lagos, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, and Oyo states showing the highest facility densities. However, facility count alone doesn’t indicate accessibility—many rural LGAs remain critically underserved.
Access Disparity: Research indicates that urban areas average 1 facility per 5,000-10,000 people, while some remote rural LGAs have ratios exceeding 1 facility per 20,000-30,000+ people.3
*Statistics from Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria (2019). The GRID3 v2.0 dataset (2024) shown on this map incorporates more recent updates from the Nigeria Health Facility Registry and may contain different facility counts. As of 2024, the HFR reports 39,081 operational facilities.
Why Points? Why Healthcare?
Point maps are the foundation of spatial analysis. Before we draw boundaries, model flows, or calculate densities, we start with points—individual locations anchored in latitude and longitude.
For Nigeria’s healthcare system, these points reveal fundamental questions:
Where are the gaps? Zoom into rural Zamfara or Yobe. Notice the sparse scatter of dots—mostly light blues and grays. These are communities where the nearest clinic might be hours away by foot.
Where is the clustering? Pan to Lagos, Abuja, or Kano. The density of dark teal dots—tertiary hospitals—reveals where specialized care concentrates.4
What does ownership tell us? The data includes public and private facilities. The spatial distribution of private clinics clusters heavily in wealthier urban areas, while public primary health centres dominate rural regions.
The Healthcare Access Challenge
Nigeria’s healthcare system operates on a three-tier structure:5
- Tertiary hospitals (darkest teal): Teaching hospitals and federal medical centres offering specialized care
- Secondary hospitals (medium teal): General hospitals at the LGA and state level
- Primary health centres (light blue): The foundation of healthcare delivery, closest to communities
The WHO recommends at least one primary health centre per 10,000-20,000 people.6 With Nigeria’s population exceeding 220 million, this map reveals both progress and profound gaps.
The rural-urban divide is stark. While Lagos State has over 3,000 mapped facilities serving approximately 15 million people (1 facility per 5,000 people), states like Zamfara, Kebbi, and Yobe show significantly lower facility-to-population ratios, particularly in remote LGAs.
Distance matters. In emergencies, every kilometer counts. Research shows that maternal mortality rates increase dramatically when women live more than 5km from a health facility.7 This map makes distance visible.
Spatial Planning for Health Equity
As spatial planners and engineers, we see this map as a call to action:
Data-driven investment: Where should the next 1,000 primary health centres be built? Spatial analysis using population density, road networks, and existing facility locations can optimize placement.
Emergency response planning: Ambulance routing, medical supply chains, and epidemic response all depend on understanding healthcare facility distribution.
Equity analysis: Overlaying this data with poverty maps, flood risk zones, and conflict-affected areas reveals which communities face compounded vulnerabilities.
About the #30DayMapChallenge
The #30DayMapChallenge is a daily mapping and cartography challenge throughout November. Created by Topi Tjukanov, it brings together the global geospatial community to explore creative ways of visualizing spatial data.
This is Day 1: Points—the simplest, yet most fundamental geographic primitive.
Over the next 29 days, we’ll explore Nigeria through lines, polygons, grids, climate data, and more. Each map will reveal a different dimension of our country’s spatial story.
Tomorrow: Day 2 — Lines: Nigeria’s Road Network and Connectivity Gaps
Stay tuned as we trace the arteries connecting Nigeria’s cities, towns, and villages—and the communities still waiting to be connected.
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References
Want to explore Nigeria’s spatial data? Contact us
Follow our #30DayMapChallenge series: Nexus Insights
Footnotes
-
Center for Integrated Earth System Information (CIESIN), Columbia University (2024). GRID3 NGA - Health Facilities v2.0. New York: GRID3. https://doi.org/10.7916/kv1n-0743.
Dataset incorporates records from the Nigeria Health Facility Registry (HFR, 2024). ↩ -
Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria (2019). “Nigeria Health Facility Register 2019.” National Health Facility Registry.
Official count: 40,821 total facilities (34,675 primary, 5,780 secondary, 166 tertiary). Note: As of 2024, the HFR reports 39,081 operational facilities. ↩ -
Ouma, P. O., et al. (2018). “Access to emergency hospital care provided by the public sector in sub-Saharan Africa in 2015: a geocoded inventory and spatial analysis.” The Lancet Global Health, 6(3), e342-e350.
Documents healthcare facility-to-population ratios across Nigeria, revealing significant urban-rural disparities in access. ↩ -
Adeloye, D., et al. (2021). “Health facility utilization in Nigeria: a systematic review.” BMC Health Services Research, 21(1).
Shows significant urban clustering of secondary and tertiary facilities. ↩ -
Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria (2023). “National Health Facility Registry: Structure and Classification.” HFR Portal.
Defines the three-tier healthcare delivery system. ↩ -
World Health Organization (2018). “Primary Health Care Systems (PRIMASYS): Comprehensive case study from Nigeria.” WHO Publications.
Recommends facility-to-population ratios for primary healthcare. ↩ -
Ebong, V. O. (2023). “Spatial analysis of maternal healthcare access in Nigeria.” Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology, 45.
Demonstrates correlation between distance to health facilities and maternal mortality. ↩