Borehole Water Pollution and its Implication on health on the Rural Communities of Malawi

This study analyzed borehole water quality data collected by the Water Section of the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development since 1980s. This study was done in order to verify the rightness of the public view that borehole water is synonymous to potable water. The study analyzed water quality data of 5,324 boreholes occurring throughout Malawi. The objective of the study was to determine the extent to which borehole water salts such as: fluorides, nitrates, iron and chlorides are occurring above the concentrations recommended as safe limit of drinking water by the World Health Organization (WHO). The study observes that of the 27,913 boreholes in Malawi, only 5,324 boreholes had been tested for water quality representing about 19.1% of the total boreholes. Of these 1,676 boreholes had chemical concentration above those recommended by WHO for safe limit of drinking water, representing 31.5% of the water quality tested boreholes. The study observed that: 567 boreholes had iron, 142 boreholes had fluorides, 81 boreholes had chlorides and 19 had nitrates above those recommended by WHO for safe limits for drinking water respectively. The implication of these findings is that a large number of rural communities in Malawi are continuously ingesting borehole water that has adverse levels of chemical toxicity. The detrimental impacts on human health of such toxicity may require many years of exposure before their impacts are recognized and by that time many rural communities would already have adversely been affected.Keywords: Borehole water; chemical toxicity; rural communities; ingestio

Land Use Impacts on Water Quality of Rivers draining from Mulanje Mountain: A Case of Ruo River in the Southern Malawi

A research study was carried out to determine the effects of different land uses on the water quality of Ruo River. Water sampling was done both in the upper and the middle sections of the river. The water samples were analysed for pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), sulphates, chloride, bicarbonates, nitrates, phosphates, fluoride, sodium, potassium, cadmium and Escherichia coli using standard methods. Land uses in the area significantly affected the concentration of EC, TDS, sulphates, potassium and sodium (p ≤ 0.05) while pH, dissolved oxygen, chloride, bicarbonates, nitrates, phosphates and E-coli did not significantly fluctuate with land use changes in the area (p ≥ 0.05). The effect of seasons was significant on pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, chloride, bicarbonates and sodium (p ≤ 0.05) but not on electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, sulphates, nitrates, lead, potassium and e coli in Ruo River. The research recommends an integrated water resources management approach where all users and relevant stakeholders should take an active role in the conservation of Ruo River catchment in order to avoid further degradation of the catchment through different land uses.Keywords: Ruo River; Mulanje Mountain; Land use changes; Water quality; smallholder farmers; Estate farmer

Improving local health through community health workers in Cambodia: challenges and solutions

Volunteer community health workers (CHWs) are an important link between the public health system and the community. The ‘Community Participation Policy for Health’ in Cambodia identifies CHWs as key to local health promotion and as a critical link between district health centres and the community. However, research on the challenges CHWs face and identifying what is required to optimise their performance is limited in the Cambodian context. This research explores the views of CHWs in rural Cambodia, on the challenges they face when implementing health initiatives