Abstract:

Access to health care services with the assurance of affordable, low-cost, and quality services that is available to people is one of the core components of universal health coverage (UHC). The United Nations (UN) has included the achievement of UHC by the year 2030 as part of the 3rd component of the SDG, which is aimed at ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all ages, in the overall Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The number of people lacking access to essential health services continues to increase. Hence, the need for close monitoring of the mode and pattern of accessibility to basic health care services becomes crucial as population growth continues to expand in many of the low-and-middle-income countries (LMIC). This study examined the geographic and spatial accessibility of the primary health care network in the Bauchi Local Government area of Bauchi State – Nigeria through open data and geospatial analysis techniques. The study identified settlements/populations that are not covered (under-served) by any health facility (HF) in the local government and the geographical network coverage of the HFs in the LGA. It also highlights the factors that are influencing accessibility to guide policymakers on equal distribution of health care facilities towards reducing inequality in accessibility. Different data sets on HF locations, population, and settlement point was used. The study opens ways to closing inequality in access to health care services, which will further support the effective and efficient delivery of health care services in similar resource settings towards achieving UHC.

Keywords: Bauchi Local Government Area, Geographic Accessibility, Health Care Facilities, Spatial Coverage Modelling, Universal Health Coverage, Under-served Settlements.

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