Water quality and waterborne disease in the Niger River Inland Delta, Mali: A study of local knowledge and response

Sarah J. Halvorson, Ashley L. Williams, Sidy Ba, Florence V. Dunkel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a study to assess patterns in local knowledge of and response to water quality and waterborne diseases in relation to seasonal changes in the Niger River Inland Delta. The study draws on field data collected in four villages along the Niger River in the Mopti region of Mali during September 2008. The major findings suggest: (1) water use behaviors and diarrheal disease management are influenced by the tremendous seasonal fluctuations in the riverine environment; (2) local awareness of the relationship between poor water quality, oral-fecal disease transmission, and waterborne disease is low; (3) interventions to mitigate the high incidence of childhood diarrhea and degraded water quality are limited by ongoing socio-economic, cultural, and environmental factors; and (4) women's level of health knowledge is socially and culturally dependent.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)449-457
Number of pages9
JournalHealth and Place
Volume17
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2011

Keywords

  • Childhood diarrhea
  • Knowledge
  • Mali
  • Niger River Inland Delta
  • Water quality
  • Women

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