. DECEMBER 2012 BACK ISSUE by Karen Kasmauski For the nomadic tribes of West African countries like Mali, finding water is a major concern for their survival.  Repeated drought conditions have reduced the number of water sources throughout the territory these nomads travel. Some feel that drought has been one of the deadly results of climate change.  Even though these people use almost no fuel or motorized tools that could contribute to global warming, they are among the first groups to suffer the consequences of it. When water or grass for their cattle disappears, the nomads have to pack up their lives and move to new locations in the hope of finding water and vegetation for their animals.  Because they travel, it's hard for government health officials to keep track of them.  Health workers are concerned that not only will these people be faced with issues of a diminishing water supply but the health issues that could arise from water sources contaminated by water-borne parasites like guinea worm which is one of the more difficult ones to eliminate. Once inside the host human, the tiny larva grows into a worm that can be a meter in length. When it ready to reproduce, it heads to the surface of the human's skin, pushing against it, giving a painful, burning sensation. Humans go to closest sources of water, a pond or well, to relieve the burning sensation. Once the worm senses the water, it bursts out and releases thousands of larva into that water supply, contaminating it for other users. It is uncertain how climate change will ultimately affect this area of the world but for the moment, it is disastrous. People drawing water from wells in Tessit, Mali. Mali boy drinking water through a filter designed to block the parasite causing Guinea Worm, a water-borne parasite. Health worker removes Guinea Worm from the leg of a boy in Mali, Africa.  The parasitic worm is spread through untreated water. Mali nomad woman with children during summer drought in desert. She is watching health workers treat the pond near her transits location with chemicals to kill the Guinea Worm parasite. A nomad in Africa receives chemicals to threat the pond water possibly contaminated with Guinea Worm. Mali nomads building huts during the dry season, when they move they take apart the hut and carry it with them to the new location. Mali nomads pulling water from a well that is nearly dry.  This is one of the last remaining water holes at the bottom of a dried lake bed. The water would rise up to the level of the trees behind these people, but weather change has caused continual drought conditions in this area. As water supplies diminish in the drought, more and more use is made of less and less water, leading to the likelihood of Guinea Worm parasites spreading.  Here women wash tentpoles in one of the few remaining ponds located in the bottom  of a lake bed. Mali nomad baby lying on a hammock while his mother rests.  The family just finished relocating themselves.  These people herd cattle as as food and water diminishes for the animals, the people move on to other locations. Mali Fishermen paddle across the Niger River which  shrinks in the summer dry season.  The yellow haze comes from the heavy dust in the air from fine sand particles. Woman getting water from shrinking lake in Mali at height of dry season, each day there is less and less water in the lake. Contamination of parasite  can intensify as lakes and ponds diminish.  Less water is used for more and more activities, washing, cooking, cleaning, watering animals. The coloring in the air is from the heavy dust particles from the fine sand. At the height of the dry season, Mali nomads roam the desert in search of water and food. Here the woman and children travel with the household goods while the men and older boys drive the cattle on another path.  The air has a golden color due to fine particles of sand that are continually in the air. A Mali government health worker watches the approach of a sandstorm to a small village which is already impacted by drought.  A nearby lake has nearly dried completely, leaving little options for water for both people and cattle. Mali government health workers shelter their camels in the midst of a summer sandstorm, the air is thick with fine sand particles. They are in this village to check a lake bed that is drying up. The villagers are not only at risk for drought, but also, limited water sources increase the changes that the water will be contaminated with parasites like Guinea Worm. Tuareg indentured servant in Mali.  Many of these people live under feudal like conditions, where families, generation after generation would serve the families to whom they are indentured.    They are at the bottom of the food chain when drought conditions are in place. A Mali nomad woman who is an indentured servant pounds grain at twilight for this household.  She is also responsible for cleaning up after the children, getting water and cooking. At the height of the dry season in Mali, lakes evaporate.  Here a health worker lifts slabs of mud to look for moisture as winds whip across the lake bed. He is the village nurse who lives in a near by village.  A sand storm has just hit the area.  The lake as some remaining water at one end, but it will soon disappear as more and more people and animals seek the last remaining drops of water. Mali boy in shallow lake in the Tessit area at twilight.  Many of the villagers come down to this overflow area from the Niger River to get water, wash clothes and bath.  These shallow areas with little movement of water could harbor parasites like the Guinea Worm.  As drought conditions make water less available, there is a higher likelihood that ponds and shallow lakes could be contaminated. Back to current issue