Our focus is on the district of Talensi in the Upper East Region, just south of Bolgatanga. This is one of the poorest parts of Ghana, with a population of about 91,000. Most people live in mud or cement huts and scrape a living by subsistence farming, at the mercy of extreme heat and unpredictable rain.  Under-nutrition among children is common, especially towards the end of the dry season, when food stocks run short. There is a high risk of malaria in the wet season, although deaths from  malaria have dropped dramatically in recent years due to effective prevention and treatment. High levels of immunisation have reduced child deaths from infections such as measles and meningitis.