Geospatial Analysis of Food Desert Distribution in Urban Kano

Food deserts, defined as areas with limited physical and economic access to affordable, nutritious food, have become an emerging concern in Nigerian cities as rapid urbanisation outpaces the distribution of formal food retail infrastructure and suppresses smallholder market access in peripheral residential zones. This study conducts a geospatial analysis of food desert distribution in Urban Kano, the largest city in Nigeria's North West geopolitical zone, examining the spatial relationship between food retail accessibility, household income, and dietary outcomes. Locations of formal supermarkets, registered fresh food markets, and informal food retail clusters were mapped through a combination of ground-truthing surveys and analysis of OpenStreetMap data updated by field verification in 2023. A composite food access index was developed combining proximity to fresh food vendors, market density per population, and household food expenditure data from ward-level census derivatives. Dietary quality indicators were assessed from a household dietary diversity survey administered to 400 households across eight wards spanning high, medium, and low food access zones. Results identify concentrated food desert conditions in peripheral wards of Fagge, Nassarawa, and portions of Kano Municipal LGA where formal food markets are absent and only low-quality processed food street vending is accessible within walking distance for residents without motorised transport. Dietary diversity scores are significantly lower in food desert wards compared to well-served wards (mean HDDS 3.8 versus 5.9, p < 0.01). Recommendations include public market siting criteria incorporating food access gap analysis, incentives for fresh food vendors to operate in underserved wards, and urban agriculture promotion. Keywords: food desert, food access, Kano, North West Nigeria, urban nutrition.