Geospatial Modelling and Buffer-Based Accessibility Analysis of Health Facilities in Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria

Author

Dr. Adeboboye James Adeyemi, Emeribe Chiemerie Rhema, Okoli Obioma Eugenia, Ofuenyi Oshole Jonathan, Okonkwo Uchenna Peter, Nnenna Nicholas


Abstract

 Access to functional and well-distributed health facilities is a cornerstone of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being). In rapidly urbanising Nigerian commercial cities such as Onitsha, unplanned growth and high building density often outpace the provision of health infrastructure, raising questions about the physical, geometric accessibility of existing facilities. This study applies a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based Euclidean buffer approach to examine the spatial distribution and physical (proximity) accessibility of hospitals, pharmacies, and other healthcare facilities in Onitsha North and Onitsha South Local Government Areas (LGAs), Anambra State. Sixty-one facility locations (F001–F061) were digitised in ArcGIS, projected to the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zone 32N (WGS 84) coordinate reference system, and a 500 m Euclidean service-area buffer was generated around each facility. The individual buffers were dissolved and overlaid on the administrative boundary to compute the proportion of each LGA’s land area lying within, versus outside, the 500 m Euclidean proximity buffer.

Results reveal a markedly clustered distribution of facilities, concentrated along the Onitsha–Owerri Road corridor and within the core commercial districts of Onitsha South, producing extensive buffer overlap in these areas, while the north-eastern and eastern fringes of Onitsha North, closer to Ogidi, remain sparsely served or entirely outside the 500 m Euclidean proximity buffer. The study concludes that facility siting in Onitsha appears more strongly aligned with commercial viability and trade-route accessibility than with even geographic coverage of the study area.



Keywords

GIS; Euclidean buffer analysis; health facility accessibility; spatial coverage; Onitsha; Anambra State; Universal Health Coverage



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References


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