Bayesian spatio-temporal statistical modeling of violent-related fatality in western and central Africa

Fatality arising from violent events is a critical public health problem in Africa. Although numerous studies on crime and violent events have been conducted, adequate attention has not been given to the distribution of fatalities arising from these events. This study unraveled the spatio-temporal pattern of fatality from violent events in Western and Central Africa. A two-component spatio-temporal zero-inflated model on a continuous spatial domain within a Bayesian framework was adopted. The stochastic partial differential equation was used to quantify the continuous pattern and make projections in unsampled regions. Fatality data from 1997 to 2021 was obtained from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED). Findings from the result revealed a spatial and temporal divide in the prevalence of fatality in the study region. Between the years 1997 and 2010, fatality from violence was most prevalent in Central Africa, whereas in more recent years, it was most prevalent in Western Africa. The posterior predictive probabilities of fatality occurrence due to violent events in Nigeria and Cameroon were highest and above 0.6, and the probability of more than one death per violent event is highest in Angola and Chad with probability 0.2. On violent event type, findings showed that suicide bombs had the highest likelihood of fatality occurrence whereas the event of violent non-state actors overtaking territory had the highest impact on the likelihood of multiple fatality counts. Among the armed actors who participated in violent events, armed religious groups were linked to the highest likelihood of fatality occurrence whereas Military forces were linked to the highest likelihood of multiple fatality counts per event. The finding also revealed that there is a higher likelihood of multiple fatalities in the Winter temperate season. These findings could be used for planning and policy design geared towards mitigating fatality and providing a guide towards resource distribution to support the affected communities.