Politics of Public Water Supply and Guinea Worm Disease in Colonial Abakaliki, Southeast Nigeria.

Guinea worm, variously called nwori, akwara, or ehu among the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria, was particularly endemic in the Abakaliki area of Nigeria during the colonial era. Abakaliki was tagged the 'guinea worm reservoir' in comparison with other parts of Nigeria that equally experienced guinea worm disease. This was attributable to a severe lack of potable water supply in the area and a high rate of cyclops contamination. Scholars have focused attention on the microbiological causes, transmission, and consequences of various guinea worm eradication programmes; much has also been written about how the colonial administration contributed to the rapid spread of the disease, but there is little scholarly research on the post-eradication era. That is, whether those colonial factors have been addressed sustainably. Thus, this paper examines the role of the British colonial government in guinea worm endemicity vis-à-vis the contemporary governance structures. The paper adopts the qualitative method of historical research, relying mainly on data sourced from primary and secondary sources. Findings suggest that the colonial government's lack of commitment to providing a safe and adequate water supply, poor maintenance of public water sources, lack of effective health education, and discriminatory localisation of public water supplies contributed significantly to the spread of guinea worm disease in Abakaliki during the period of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]