ACADEMIA Letters
Traditional Housing and Infection Control in South East
Nigeria
Chinwe Sam-Amobi
Kingsley Ejike Anih
Rosemary Nnaemeka-Okeke
The continued call for self-isolation, quarantine and physical-distancing as a major means
of controlling the spread of COVID-19 calls for an urgent review of the residential building
sector and its response to coping with the stress and demands of controlling infection spread.
Unlike most outbreaks that the beginning is traced to the poor living in slums and squalor,
the COVID -19 has presented in developing countries through the wealthy and rich. It has
continued to devastate families mostly in the urban areas of Nigeria, while the rural areas have
had fewer cases of suspected Covid-19 related deaths This study focuses on the efectiveness
of traditional architecture of South East Nigeria in coping with the demands of quarantine and
physical distancing in residential buildings to control infection transmission and spread.
Chukwuali 2004, defnes traditional housing as an embodiment of that architecture which
has evolved with time as a collision, fusion, and synthesis of a people’s life-style, cultures
and traditions with their utilitarian intentions, aesthetic values and technological limitation.
Agboola and Zango (2014), emphasizes that for such buildings to perform its optimal goal, it
must possess the minimum facilities needed for human health, body and spirit.
Though traditional architecture in Nigeria does not have explicit connection to physical
distancing and infectious disease control we can however draw some inspiration from some
of its features that not only support physical distancing and self-isolation but also promotes
the design of healthy homes. Some of these features include the use of verandas, courtyards
and efective integration of outdoor spaces in the design. Traditional housing largely employs
the use of local materials (which are non-toxic) and resources, they are relatively sustainable
Academia Letters, August 2021
Corresponding Author: Chinwe Sam-Amobi, chinwe.sam_amobi@unn.edu.ng
Citation: Sam-Amobi, C., Anih, K.E., Nnaemeka-Okeke, R. (2021). Traditional Housing and Infection Control
in South East Nigeria. Academia Letters, Article 2722. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2722.
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©2021 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0