water sources, infrastructure, space and the dynamics of ...

Water sources, infrastructure, space and the dynamics of environmental diseases in Saboba District: Using GISIdentify the most pressing environmental problems in the district.Identify whether women and men are proportionately affected byenvironmental diseases.Use GIS to identify the spatial dynamics of environmentaldiseases.Identify the causes of high rates of environmental diseases in thedistrict and provide recommendations based on the study.Expected outcomeThe research is expected to; 1) contribute to knowledge in reducingenvironmental diseases in general and 2) broaden the knowledge of theuse of GIS as a tool to analyse health issues.Hypothesis and propositionsIn this study, it is hypothesised that; there is a significant relationshipbetween distances to the main town, roads, watercourses, the type ofland cover and elevation on one hand and environmental diseases on theother in Saboba district. In this study, two propositions are made. Theseare; 1). Environmental diseases are increasing at faster rates in Sabobadistrict and 2) environmental diseases affect more women than men.Rationale for the studyDue to the increasing rates of water-related diseases shown above byWHO and UNICEF (2004) and IWMI (2000) and the growing need forinterventions aimed at disease prevention and control, it is crucial tocarry out research into the spatial dynamics of these diseases. This studywill enable stakeholders in the case of Saboba district to design areaspecificintervention measures, as well as proactive decisions through theintegration of water management and health policies. For example, thestudy on the spatial dimension of these diseases will provide the neededinformation for the development of effective water and healthintervention policies suitable for each specific community. Also, byidentifying the past water management practices, the stakeholders will beable to integrate water and health policies in a way that is economicallyand culturally feasible in Saboba district, and Ghana in general.DelimitationThis research did not deal with the chemical components of water andthe biology of diseases, due largely to insufficient knowledge in waterchemistry and molecular biology and epidemiology respectively. Also,time, cost and resource constraints did not permit administration ofquestionnaires in all communities in the district; hence only fivecommunities were sampled. It is also worth to note that when theresearch began, the study area was originally limited to Saboba subdistrict(part of Saboba/Chereponi district). However, in February, 2008,the study area gains a full district status and named Saboba district. Theother part is named Chereponi district. Such changes are subsequentlyeffected, but some few aspects of the description of the study area stillmaintain features of the old district, since there has not yet been anyclear demarcation of the northern boundary between the two districts. Iam also aware of the classification of water related diseases as water borne,water washed, water based etc, but as this is not the focus of the research,water related as used here encompasses all of these diseases. It is alsoworth to note that, though the focus of this study is on water relateddiseases, RTI has been included for readers to see the trends ofenvironmental diseases in the district beyond those related to water.3