Wastewater management and health nuisances in the living environments of the populations of Abobo Kennedy Clouetcha (Abidjan, Ivory Coast)

Abstract

Wastewater management remains a concern for the populations of Abidjan and particularly those in the Abobo-Kennedy-Clouetcha neighborhood. Faced with their difficult management, the populations are confronted daily with nuisances in their living environments. This study aimed to demonstrate the nuisances to which the neighborhood's populations are exposed due to the difficult wastewater management. The results from the documentary research and field surveys show that the Kennedy-Clouetcha neighborhood presents numerous nuisances due to the failure of the sanitation system. Sanitation infrastructure remains inadequate with regard to the production of wastewater from laundry, dishes, and household toilets. Of the 189 heads of households surveyed, 63.5% directly evacuate their wastewater into the street. Dry latrines (46%) are the main toilet facilities for heads of households. Regarding the methods of emptying septic tanks, 54.5% of the heads of households surveyed use emptying trucks and 35.7% use manual well diggers who, in their process, transfer the waste into a new hole dug in front of the open-air dwellings. The neighborhood also suffers from a notable lack of a pipe network for rainwater drainage. Under these conditions, the populations experience nuisances in their living environments. The heads of households surveyed mentioned health problems (34%), nauseating odors (27%) and mosquito bites (21%). Among the diseases affecting the members of the heads of households surveyed, malaria (78.8%), diarrheal diseases (7.4%), ARI (5.8%), dermatoses (2.6%) and typhoid fever (2.6%) were the most cited. The transmission and spread of these diseases are linked to the deficiency of the wastewater management system.