Tetteh Jacob Doku, Templeton Michael R, Cavanaugh Alicia, Bixby Honor, Owusu George, Yidana Sandow Mark, Moulds Simon, Robinson Brian, Baumgartner Jill, Annim Samuel Kobina, Quartey Rosalind, Mintah Samilia E, Bawah Ayaga Agula, Arku Raphael E, Ezzati Majid, Agyei-Mensah Samuel
Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 59, Legon-Accra, Ghana.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Popul Environ. 2022;44(1-2):46-76. doi: 10.1007/s11111-022-00407-y. Epub 2022 Aug 12.
Universal access to safe drinking water is essential to population health and well-being, as recognized in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). To develop targeted policies which improve urban access to improved water and ensure equity, there is the need to understand the spatial heterogeneity in drinking water sources and the factors underlying these patterns. Using the Shannon Entropy Index and the Index of Concentration at the Extremes at the enumeration area level, we analyzed census data to examine the spatial heterogeneity in drinking water sources and neighborhood income in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), the largest urban agglomeration in Ghana. GAMA has been a laboratory for studying urban growth, economic security, and other concomitant socio-environmental and demographic issues in the recent past. The current study adds to this literature by telling a different story about the spatial heterogeneity of GAMA's water landscape at the enumeration area level. The findings of the study reveal considerable geographical heterogeneity and inequality in drinking water sources not evidenced in previous studies. We conclude that heterogeneity is neither good nor bad in GAMA judging by the dominance of both piped water sources and sachet water (machine-sealed 500-ml plastic bag of drinking water). The lessons from this study can be used to inform the planning of appropriate localized solutions targeted at providing piped water sources in neighborhoods lacking these services and to monitor progress in achieving universal access to improved drinking water as recognized in the SDG 6 and improving population health and well-being.
正如可持续发展目标（SDG）所认可的那样，普遍获得安全饮用水对民众健康和福祉至关重要。为了制定有针对性的政策以改善城市地区获得优质水的情况并确保公平性，有必要了解饮用水源的空间异质性以及这些模式背后的因素。我们利用香农熵指数和极端集中度指数，在枚举区层面分析人口普查数据，以研究大阿克拉都会区（GAMA）——加纳最大的城市群——饮用水源和社区收入的空间异质性。在最近一段时间里，GAMA一直是研究城市增长、经济安全以及其他相关社会环境和人口问题的实验室。本研究通过讲述一个关于GAMA在枚举区层面水景观空间异质性的不同故事，为这一文献增添了内容。研究结果揭示了饮用水源存在相当大的地理异质性和不平等性，这在以前的研究中并未得到证实。我们得出结论，从管道水源和袋装水（机器密封的500毫升饮用水塑料袋）占主导地位来看，异质性在GAMA既非好事也非坏事。本研究的经验教训可用于为规划适当的本地化解决方案提供参考，这些解决方案旨在为缺乏这些服务的社区提供管道水源，并监测在实现可持续发展目标6所认可的普遍获得优质饮用水以及改善民众健康和福祉方面取得的进展。
