Abstract: Water is vital to our existence in life and its quality influences the health status of any population, hence this study. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of Aba River on the health of the inhabitants living along the river. Six sampling points were selected along the river using convenient sampling for water samples collection. Communities were selected purposively for health care outreach. Water samples were collected and analysed in the laboratory. Results were compared with SON and WHO standards. Findings reveal that 83% of the sampled population had skin diseases, 77% had abdominal cramps, 69% had abdominal pains and 52% suffered from diarrhoea (52%) which were prevalent in communities living close to the Aba River. This was attributed to the poor water quality of the river as a result of anthropogenic activities. The study recommends that the growth rate of urbanization should be slowed down within the Aba River catchment and be extended to areas outside the catchment since the catchment area is characterized by an increase in settlements, which include urban developments, sewage and industrial effluents that are major threats to the Aba River water quality and leads to diseases among the people living along the river.
Key words: Abdominal, Disease, Health impact, Riverine communities