ABSTRACT
The Volta River Basin in West Africa drains 400000 km2 toward the south, to Lake Volta, reaching the coast at Ada in southeastern Ghana near the Togo border (Figure 12.1). The basin also covers most of the country of Ghana. Two important waterassociated diseases in this river basin related to dam construction are river blindness and bilharzia. The most well-known example of a disease epidemic caused by a water project in Ghana is the urinary bilharzia epidemic which occurred around Lake Volta after construction of the dam at Akosombo. However, similar problems with bilharzia also occurred later at a smaller dam downstream of Akosombo, at Kpong.
