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Safe drinking water, good sanitation and hygiene are important for good health, human survival and development. However, human activities have affected water quality in many river catchments worldwide. Hellar-Kihampa et al. (2013) concluded that the Pangani River, Tanzania, had the worst water quality in the Moshi, Arusha and Kilimanjaro region, with the highest levels of Na + , K + , Mg 2+ , HCO 3 − and F − , the presence of these contaminants being as a result of human activities. Industrial water pollution has also been reported in many countries in Africa such as Lesotho (Pullanikkatil and Urama 2011) and Ghana (Attua et al. 2014). Changes in water quality are usually associated with changes in land use (Arnold and Gibbons 1996). Characterising changes in land use, coupled with increased population growth, has revealed the vulnerability of water quality in various catchments. The clearing of natural vegetation and the transformation of natural land use into urban developments are known to increase runoff and sediment loads, which also facilitates the transfer of pollutants from land to waterbodies (Arnold and Gibbons 1996). A positive correlation between population density and deterioration in water quality was found along the Bagmati River, Nepal (Bhatt et al. 2014). Therefore, combined pressures of human population growth, inadequate treatment of human wastes and ineffectively managed and treated industrial and agricultural wastes make it imperative that continuous monitoring of water quality is implemented for the provision of clean and safe water for human consumption and optimal environmental integrity. Africa's water resources are underutilised and pollution of both surface and groundwater resources has been increasing, leading to serious health risks to both humans and the ecosystem (UNECA u.d.). Pollution has caused the growth of water hyacinth which has affected, for example, Lake Victoria, the Nile River, and Lake Chivero in Zimbabwe. Malawi's river catchments, in spite of being important for its population, have been deteriorating in terms of river channel integrity, ecosystem health and water quality due to human activities. The Likangala River catchment, southern Malawi, which includes forest reserves, is affected by changes in land use caused by the increasing population and breakdown in catchment management and conservation practices. Deforestation, agriculture and degrading activities such as waste disposal, river bank cultivation and river sand mining have affected the water quality of this river (Jamu et al. 2003; Chavula and Mulwafu 2007). Chidya et al. (2011) assessed the quality of water in the Likangala River and showed that it is affected by pollution from human activities. The present study updates and expands that study, focusing on water quality, and observes land use with the intent of identifying the major land-based activities that cause changes in water quality. Study area The Likangala River is the only river in Malawi that passes through a city (Zomba) and its catchment include...

There is growing recognition of the contribution of wild foods to local diets, nutrition, and culture. Yet disaggregation of understanding of wild food use by gender and age is limited. We used a mixed methods approach to determine the types, frequencies, and perceptions of wild foods used and sold by children in four villages in southern Malawi that have different levels of deforestation. Household and individual dietary diversity scores are low at all sites. All households consume one or more wild foods. Across the four sites, children listed 119 wild foods, with a wider variety at the least deforested sites than the most deforested ones. Older children can name more wild foods than younger ones. More children from poor households sell wild foods than from well-off households. Several reasons were provided for the consumption or avoidance of wild foods (most commonly taste, contribution to health, limited alternatives, hunger, availability, local taboos).

A large proportion of Malawi's more than 13 million people live in rural areas where major livelihood activities include subsistence farming, irrigation and fishing. Therefore the villagers have contact with water, which exposes them to schistosomes. In this case study, surveys and parasitological investigations were conducted to determine the prevalence of schistosomiasis and to explore the relationship between disease prevalence and selected qualitative variables in five villages located in Zomba District in Lake Chilwa Basin. The study revealed a high prevalence, ranging from 23% in Machemba village to 49% in Mukhweya village. Children, 6-15 years old, were the most heavily infested (40%), and the 0-5 years group the least. A high prevalence was observed among school children (39%), and occupations such as irrigated farming (26%) and fishing (24%). Analyses at the 0.05 α-level revealed statistically significant associations between schistosomiasis prevalence and village of residence, age group and occupation type, but there was insufficient evidence to suggest a significant relationship with gender. Based on these findings, targeted awareness and mass treatment programmes were implemented in all the villages, and 9085 people were treated.

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