MANDARA MOUNTAINS WATER RESOURCE

THIRTY-FIVE WATER CATCHMENT DAMS WILL BE CONSTRUCTED IN THE MANDARA MOUNTAINS REGION OF NORTH CAMEROON. THE DAMS WILL BE GRAVITY OVER-SPILL STRUCTURES OF RUBBLE-FILLED CONCRETE, RANGING IN HEIGHT FROM 4.5 METERS TO 10 METERS WITH A STORAGE CAPACITY OF 18,000 CUBIC METERS TO 108,000 CUBIC METERS. ONE OR 2 WATER DISTRIBUTION POINTS WILL BE BUILT DOWNSTREAM FROM EACH DAM. ALSO, AN EXISTING DAM AT DJINGLIYA WILL BE REDESIGNED TO MINIMIZE NEGATIVE HEALTH IMPLICATIONS SUCH AS THE BREEDING OF BLACK FLIES. REDESIGN WILL INCLUDE SMOOTHING OF THE DOWNSTREAM DAM FACE, THE CONSTRUCTION OF A CONCRETE LIP AT THE DOWNSTREAM BASE TO LEAD RUN-OFF WATER, AND CONSTRUCTION OF A CULVERT UNDER THE ROAD. THREE VILLAGERS WILL BE TRAINED AT EACH SITE IN DAM MAINTENANCE. HEALTH STATISTICS WILL BE COLLECTED ON A CONTINUING BASIS FROM THE 23 HOSPITALS AND DISPENSARIES IN THE PROJECT AREA BY STAFF OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH"S STATISTICS SERVICE. HEALTH OF THE PEOPLE AT EACH SITE WILL BE MONITORED PERIODICALLY AGAINST A CONTROL GROUP TO DETERMINE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE PROJECT TO THE PEOPLE IN THE AREA. IN ADDITION NUTRITION SURVEILLANCE ACTIVITIES WILL BE CONDUCTED TO PROVIDE BASELINE DATA TO COMPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES THAT MAY BE UNDERTAKEN IN THE AREA. DIRECT BENEFICIARIES WILL BE THE 13,000 FAMILIES OR 65,000 PEOPLE LIVING IN THE AREAS TO BE SERVED BY THE NEWLY CONSTRUCTED DAMS. WORLD BANK PROVIDES ENGINEERING SERVICES, AND FINANCES CONSTRUCTION OF 10 DAMS IN ADDITION TO THE 35 TO BE FINANCED BY USAID.