Sapouy: Water, sanitation, and development stakeholders took part in a workshop this Wednesday in Sapouy to present and validate the diagnostic report on behaviors, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to sanitation. This meeting is part of the national strategy aimed at eliminating open defecation (ODF) in urban areas.
According to Burkina Information Agency, Ms. Marie-Catherine Zoungrana, representative of the Association for Peace and Solidarity, welcomed the achievement of the workshop’s objectives. “We allowed all stakeholders to review the document and see that a baseline study was conducted as a prelude to the implementation of the ODF strategy in the city of Sapouy,” she said. She thanked the partners, particularly the Director General of ONEA, for their support and funding of the studies.
The ODF strategy in urban areas, developed in 2020 but previously unimplemented, is now entering its operational phase. It will first be tested in the commune of Leo, considered a pilot project, for a period of 12 months. “It’s a long-term process, because it involves changing behaviors. Once the Leo experiment is complete, Sapouy and Dano will follow,” Ms. Zoungrana said.
Ziro Provincial Director of Water, Sanitation and Environment, Adama Ouedraogo, said the study’s data accurately reflected the reality in Sapouy. He recommended that the municipality organize the population into associations and establish structures responsible for solid waste management.
As a reminder, national statistics reveal that while open defecation has fallen from 62% in 2010 to 33.6% in 2023, the phenomenon remains a concern, particularly in undeveloped urban areas. This is why ONEA, in partnership with GIZ and stakeholders such as APS, intends to accelerate the implementation of the FDAL-MU Strategy in order to promote universal and equitable access to sanitation services.
The Sapouy workshop provided an opportunity to gather feedback from local stakeholders, amend the report, and reach a consensus for its validation. The final document will serve as a guide for the next steps of implementation, with the hope of a Sapouy free of open defecation in the near future.