USAID WA-WASH ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN BURKINA FASO

The objectives of the program are to support catalytic approaches to accelerate regional access to improved water supply/sanitation services and improved hygiene behaviors, develop and implement improved models for sustainability of rural and peri-urban WASH service delivery that are replicable throughout West Africa, build synergies between WASH interventions and critical USAID/West Africa regional priorities related to food security, climate change, and sustainable resource management, and strengthen regional enabling environment and capacity for WASH to achieve WASH MDGs in West Africa. The program is implemented by several organizations, including CARE – USA, Florida International University (FIU), International Water and Sanitation Center (IRC) – Netherlands, Building Partnerships for Development in water and sanitation (BPD) – United Kingdom, International Water Association (IWA), Rainwater Harvesting Implementation Network (RAIN) - Netherland, SKAT Foundation – Switzerland, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education – Netherland, WaterAid – USA, and Winrock International – USA. The program is funded by USAID with $20,000,000 and focuses on activities implemented in Burkina Faso, including water supply, sanitation, hygiene, food security, climate change, capacity building, and the mainstreaming of gender into development programs. The program promotes promising water solutions, such as low-cost boreholes, well-boreholes, hand-dug wells with concrete rings, rope pumps, treadle pumps, pole pumps, rainwater harvesting, sand dams, small-scale piped distribution systems, and point-of-use treatment. In Burkina Faso, the program has accomplished the following: installed 197 family water points and 12 rehabilitated boreholes for the benefit of 18,560 individuals, installed 50 water points outside the program intervention areas, extended the Dori water system to 16 villages, rehabilitated three conventional boreholes, constructed 18 rainwater-harvesting tanks, three large diameter wells, and four sand dams, established and trained water point management committees, ensured water quality testing, and promoted point-of-use water treatment activities. The program has also achieved significant results in terms of water-related indicators, including a 114% increase in the number of people gaining access to an improved drinking water source, a 115% increase in the percent of women who correctly use the household water treatment product, and a 114% increase in the percent of community-level Water Users Associations (WUA) with at least 40% female membership. The National Agency for Water and Sanitation (ONEA) is the water utility company that provides water services in Burkina Faso. ONEA invests in cities of at least 10,000 inhabitants and has contracts with the private sector for water distribution in peri-urban areas. ONEA gets its water supply from surface and ground water, with surface water being predominant. Statistics from the Ministry of Water and Sanitation reveal that the rates of access to water are 87% and 64% in urban and rural areas, respectively. As for sanitation in urban areas, ONEA has developed and implemented two types of treatment models for sewage. One is the large-scale sewage treatment model available in Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso, which consists of collecting and treating sewage via a lagoon system. The other is the household-level sanitation, which consists of constructing ventilated pit latrines and improved cesspits for collecting and treating human excreta and grey water. As of December 2015, the rate of access to sanitation was 32% in urban areas and 9% in rural areas. In its efforts to deliver water and sanitation services, ONEA is accompanied by NGOs and associations that invest in peri-urban and rural areas in the construction of water and sanitation facilities. These facilities include ventilated pit latrines, SanPlat latrines, ECOSAN latrines, improved cesspits, standpipes, rope pumps, treadle pumps, bicycle pumps, and boreholes. Many financial and technical partners, including the United States International Development Agency (USAID), the European Union (EU), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the World Bank (WB), have contributed to the effort of improving access to water and sanitation. In 2009, the national authorities decided to empower the municipalities with the management of water and sanitation services within their district. This change in administration of public affairs aims to increase efficiency and effectiveness in water and sanitation services delivery and to raise the rate of access to these basic services.