“A closer look”: examining factors influencing the spatiotemporal dynamics of drinking water access in Ghana

Increasing literature underscores the importance of environmental, systemic, and individual factors in impacting access to and management of improved drinking water sources. However, to date, there has been no exploration of the interplay between environmental and social factors, especially in Ghana. This study employed a coupled systems framework to explore these factors by integrating data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey with meteorological records from 1991 to 2021. Binary logistic regression was used to explore relationships, reporting odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The multivariate regression analysis revealed that environmental factors, such as increased average rainfall range [OR 1.012; 95% CI (1.005-1.019)], were associated with access to improved water sources, while increased maximum (OR = 0.845, 95% CI: 0.734-0.974) and minimum (OR = 0.665, 95% CI: 0.596-0.742) rainy days in a month decreased access. Systemic factors, including religious affiliation and income, played significant roles, with households practicing traditional religion [OR 3.024; 95% CI (1.684-5.431)] and high-income households [OR 6.875; 95% CI (5.748-8.223)] having higher odds of accessing improved water sources. Individual factors such as smaller household size [OR 1.461; 95% CI (1.191-1.793)], absence of pregnant women [OR 1.864; 95% CI (1.496-2.323)] and higher education levels [OR 1.212; 95% CI (1.069-1.373)] were associated with better access. Understanding these multifaceted influences is crucial for policymakers to devise nuanced and inclusive strategies, integrating climate and gender perspectives, to ensure equitable access across diverse groups and communities in Ghana to achieve SDG 6.1.