Delegations from Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire have visited the Bobo-Dioulasso sanitation facility in Burkina Faso to share learnings to improve sanitation in their own country.
Organised by WaterAid and Speak Up Africa, one of the visit’s main objectives was to share with delegates from Senegal and Yamoussoukro (Cote d’Ivoire) WaterAid Burkina Faso’s innovative approach known as Leader-Led Total Sanitation (LLTS).
In collaboration with the Burkina Faso Ministry responsible for Water and Sanitation, WaterAid’s LLTS is an approach aimed at convincing community leaders to commit to helping the general public find local solutions to their own sanitation problems.
Whilst Senegal is home to one of the most developed water supply and sanitation sectors in sub-Saharan Africa, the country faces fundamental challenges including uneven access to sanitation services in urban and rural areas (67.4% vs. 42.3%). Similarly, in Cote d’Ivoire, 35% of people living in rural areas do not have access to safe drinking water.
Through the visit, the delegates from Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire, including Mr. Ismaela Diagne, Mayor of Agnam Civol in Senegal and Mr. Konan Yaoura Deputy Mayor of Yamoussoukro in Ivory Coast learnt more about several sanitation innovations and solutions, including:
- The LLTS approach and how to adapt it to the Senegalese / Cote d’Ivoire environment;
- Building latrines and carrying out monitoring & evaluation;
- How to engage municipalities in sanitation issues; and
- How to build effective collaboration between the Government, NGOs, and municipalities.
Ms. Maimouna Diarra Dione, Technical Advisor to Senegal’s Minister of Water & Sanitation, Senegal, said: “The tour of the sanitation facility in Burkina Faso was an eye-opening experience. Meeting with the facility workers, and hearing about the challenges and achievements in Burkina Faso, offered inestimable insight that we can take back to Senegal.”
The tour forms a key part of Speak Up Africa’s campaigning and advocacy work to improve access to safely managed sanitation services and clean water in more countries across the continent. To help achieve this they work in close collaboration with national and regional institutions that are directly responsible for developing and implementing sanitation programmes.
Yacine Djibo, Founder & Executive Director, Speak Up Africa, said: “We are thrilled to have partnered with WaterAid for this collaborative and informative visit to Burkina Faso. Today, one in three people still live without adequate sanitation facilities, a number which rises to 75% in West Africa. This visit provided an excellent opportunity to share experiences and learnings so that we can advocate in Senegal for improved sanitation facilities in our own region.”
Ms. Dedo W. Mate-Kodjo, Regional Advocacy Manager at WaterAid, said: “Access to adequate sanitation is currently a significant challenge for most African countries, with only 17% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa having access to improved sanitation services, The importance therefore of sharing good practise, based on local solutions, cannot be overemphasised and is key to reaching Everyone Everywhere with clean water and safely managed toilets and good hygiene by 2030. We are equally thrilled to have facilitated this sharing of our experience in Burkina Faso to influence access to local solutions within the region and to accelerate implementation of SDG6.”
