Sanitation

Moundou is the second city of the country and considered as its economic capital. This city of nearly 200,000 inhabitants is home to three of the country’s largest industries (CotonTchad, Manufacture de Cigarettes Brasserie du Tchad) and has benefited from the development of petroleum activity. ​ The flood zones represent almost half of the total area of the city and directly affect a population of more than 80,000 inhabitants. In the absence of an effective protection and drainage system, Moundou is thus very exposed to floods due to rain and overflows of the Logone River during the wet season. The consequences of the floods are considerable not only on economic activity but also on the health and living conditions of the populations. The prevalence rates of malaria, respiratory infections and other waterborne diseases are among the highest in the country. Over 40% of consultations in the District health centers are linked to these diseases. ​ A Flood Control Project (PLIM), with funding from the French Development Agency, has been defined and is being implemented by the Ministry of Water and the Municipality of Moundou. This project consists of the rehabilitation and extension of an urban drainage network, the construction of a retention basin and the reinforcement of the capacities of the actors (Municipality of Moundou and Local sanitation committees) to operate and maintain the infrastructures. However, it is insufficient to fully resolve the problem of flooding in the city. 35,000 residents and 7,600 buildings remain exposed to the risk of flooding. ​ A complementary project, made up of protective structures and drainage canals, targeting peripheral districts, was thus defined and costed by Cabinet Merlin. Phœnix is responsible for the prospective assessment of the economic and health impacts of the project, its cost-benefit analysis and its operational and financial package.

«Let’s talk shit» It is with theses words that Lindsay Stradley, co-founder of Sanergy, takes us in its plea on the need to act for the fecal sludge management in the slums of Kenya. For 10 years, Sanergy has been focusing an ambitious project in 2 slums of Nairobi, from the manufacture of toilets to the transformation of excreta into marketable products. Funded by American “charities”, the project hopes to involve the Kenyan authorities to find its balance. ​ The review of this project by Phœnix illustrates at least two things: fecal sludge in urban areas still does not have an institutional framework favourable to a appropriate management. One example: the profession of manual cleaners is officially not authorized forcing them to go underground; civil society and private actors can be engines to shift gradually position lines. The progress made by Sanergy is evocative: the project now manages the collection of excreta from 3,000 toilets, for 120,000 people and allows their transformation into animal feed and organic compost. ​ Even if the economic model is still fragile, these performances give hope in this sector where there is still so much to do!