UP206A – Midterm Project Joseph Asunka February 2011 Source: The Cater Center

 To explore the relationship between elections, health needs, and distribution of water and health facilities.  There is an argument in the distributive politics literature suggesting that politicians tend to reward people who vote for them. Thus how a community votes influences the level of public resources it receives; often more than existing need.

 Dracunculiasis, one of the Neglected Tropical Diseases according to the CDC, has been a major public health issue in Ghana; specifically the Northern Region of Ghana.  In the context of electoral incentives, how has politicians responded to this issue?  Scale of analysis is district level in Northern Ghana. Subsequent analysis will be at the area council level, the lowest administrative level in Ghana.  Ghana  Regions  Districts  Area Councils

 Center for Remote Sensing and Geo- Information Services, Univ. of Ghana  Ghana Health Service  The Cater Center  World Physical Map

Where is Ghana and the Northern Region?

Ghana is located on the West Coast of Africa

Distribution of Dracunculiasis Cases in Africa (2006)

And in Ghana, Dracunculiasis is concentrated in the Northern Region Stagnant bodies of water are a major source of transmission for guinea worm. Source: The Cater Center

Elections, Social Services and Dracunculiasis Cases in Northern Ghana

 Explore in detail the association between the occurrence of dracunculiasis and actual location of healthcare facilities in local communities in Northern Ghana.  Map out moderate and severely deprived communities: calculating distances and using buffers.

Part of dataset for next steps

 Inset map  Graduated symbols  Attribute sub-set selection  Boundary sub-set selection  Graphing and statistical analysis