DRINKING-WATER SOURCES, MORTALITY AND DIARRHEA MORBIDITY AMONG YOUNG-CHILDREN IN NORTHERN GHANA

In the Upper East Region of Ghana, considerable resources have been in vested in the provision of boreholes. As part of the Ghana Vitamin A S upplementation Trials' Survival Study which was carried out in one of the districts of the Upper East Region between January 1989 and Decemb er 1991, data were collected over a period of one calendar year on the drinking water sources used by approximately 13 000 mothers/guardians of over 20 000 children and on the morbidity and mortality experience s of: these children. These data mere used to describe seasonal and ge ographical variations in drinking water sources; to look for other pre dictors of water source use; and to establish whether the drinking wat er source was associated with the risk of child death or the period pr evalence of diarrhoea among young children. Boreholes were used as the main source of drinking water by about 60-70% of respondents. They we re used slightly more frequently in the dry season. In the rainy seaso n, the use increased of more traditional sources such as rainwater or holes dug in stream beds. The use of boreholes was greatest in the nor thern zone of the study area and was more common in those who had had some formal education and were of higher socioeconomic status. Some as sociation was found between reported drinking water source and diarrho eal morbidity, although this association appeared to be seasonal. No s ignificant association was found between drinking water source and chi ld mortality.