Electoral Connection:Drivers of Political Responsiveness

The case of dracunculiasis in Ghana

UP206A – Midterm ProjectJoseph AsunkaFebruary 2011

Source: The Cater Center

Purpose 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

Data Sources 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

Next Steps 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

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