Transcript Guinea Worm (Dracunculiasis) Eradication

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.
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
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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 GeoInformation Services, Univ. of Ghana
 Ghana
 The
Health Service
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