The inhabitants of the periurban or “informal” areas of Africa’s large cities and small centres do not for the most part have access either to sufficient water, or to adequate quality water. Because this is a basic service of vital necessity, it is important to meet the specific and urgent needs of these underprivileged communities. Hence an initiative steered by the Programme Solidarité Eau with funding from French cooperation which has allowed a series of applied research and pilot scheme operations to be carried out in some fifteen countries, mainly in Africa, south of the Sahara.
In May 1998, the results of these activities were presented and discussed in the course of three days of information-sharing and dialogue in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), with the various “families” of stakeholders involved: researchers, managers, state administrations, NGOs, local service providers, and consultancy organisations, from both Africa and France. This summary document reports on both the various activities undertaken by the programme, and the fruitful information-sharing which resulted from the meeting held in Ouagadougou.
