Linkages between income, housing quality and disease occurrence in rural Ghana

Abstract

Poverty, environmental sustainability and health issues have attracted global attention in recent years. However, the public health implications of human activities within the environment are most often glossed over. As embedded in the Millennium Development Goals, the major developmental challenges of our time are poverty, environmental decay and ill health. Despite the global increase in poverty rates and the corresponding increase in morbidity and mortality rates in deprived communities, very little effort has been made over the years to juxtapose poverty, environment and health in order to elucidate the relationship between them. This paper examines the built environment situation in rural Ghana with a focus on the Amansie West District. It analyzes the impact of housing poverty and poor sanitation on the health conditions of households in rural Ghana and highlights policy approaches and gaps for ensuring environmental sustainability in Ghana. A sample of 306 rural households from nine rural areas in the Amansie West District in Southern Ghana was used for data collection with heads of households as units of inquiry. Data collection techniques included questionnaires, structured interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation. Relevant data were analyzed with both descriptive statistics and participatory housing assessment techniques. The analysis indicates that the poor-quality housing and sanitation conditions in the study area are a function of low household income levels. It further establishes a close association between housing quality and disease occurrence in the rural communities selected for this study. The paper concludes that the nature of the built environment as regards rural housing and sanitation is a significant determinant of disease prevalence in the study villages. Thus, it provides a window on the public health implications of the poor built environment in the Amansie West rural communities in Ghana.