A weighted covering model to aid in dracunculiasis eradication

Dracunculiasis (Guinea Worm Disease) is a parasitic disease that is endemic to 18 African and 2 Asian countries. It has a marked potential for eradication through a combination of water supply management, health education, and controlled medical intervention. These intervention methods require the development of water wells and establishment of schools. Each has a different cost, a different success rate for eradication of the disease, and a different distance that people are willing and able to travel in order to utilize the facility. In this paper a weighted maximal covering model is developed to determine the best locations, given a limited budget, for the different types of facilities used to fight the disease. The model is developed and demonstrated using data from a single province within one country, the Zou Province of Benin.