Ecosystemic approach and gastro-intestinal diseases in a watershed: The case of Yitenga in Burkina Faso
S. Yonkeu1, J.Wéthé1, A.H. Maiga1, H. Yacouba1, Z. Boureima1, K. Denyigba1, E.D. Dapola2, J.N. Poda3, N. Gansoré3, Ph. Compaoré4, Z. Touré5, A. Tamboura, L. Yiougo, E. S. Traore, C.
Some et T. Sina.
INTRODUCTION
The Yitenga watershed, 140 km east of the Capital city Ouagadougou, is part of the province of Kouritenga. It belongs to the soudano-Sahelian part of the country with a long and rigorous dry season. It can be characterized by three particularly important ecosystemic components i.e.:
– the city of Pouytenga, upstream of the dam, – the Yitenga dam, and
– a series of villages/fields spread throughout the ecosystem (figure 1)
Figure 1: Localization of the study area
The interrelations between the physical, socio-cultural, economic and legal factors in this ecosystem has induce and maintain a loss of its integrity which in turn contaminated vital resources, increase the risks of water related diseases in general and Gastro-intestinal diseases in particular.
Various practices and behaviors of the communities explain the main factors of exposition to these diseases that increase the risk of morbidity and mortality especially among children under five.
The socioeconomic environment of the watershed is characterized by a multipurpose use of the Yitenga dam:
- Agriculture - Livestock
- Drinking Water Supply of the towns of Pouytenga and Koupela - water supply for domestic use
- Cleaning of vegetables in the dam
A clear understanding of the determinants and the consequences of the diseases and the effectiveness of alternative approaches to reduce these factors provide the basis for the development of effective intervention strategies.
Given that gastro-intestinal diseases are deeply influenced by environmental conditions, it seems important to tackle them by integrated environment and health interventions.
The objectives of the study were to explore, with ecosystemic approach to human health, factors determining gastro-intestinal diseases among the community and possible intervention strategies to prevent or mitigate them to improve community health.
METHODOLOGIES
The global approach adopted consisted in identifying and exploring the existing relations between the various components of the Yitenga dam ecosystem in order to define and to evaluate with the populations (men and women) of this area the priority determinants of the Gastro-intestinal diseases and look for solution that can eradicate or reduce them.
This implies that research should be undertaken according to a process of true collaboration between the researchers from various complementary fields on the one hand and the implication of local actors on the other hand from the search of knowledge to the development of solutions (transdisciplinary and participative approaches).
Community members collaborating with government representatives and researchers to critically analyze their own problems generate practical knowledge and devise solutions to them. In this process communities become then contribution forum to the search of solutions, educational workshop for the reduction or eradication of risks and training fields for risks of diseases.
To implement this process (Figure 2), the whole of the research team, composed of 14 researchers from different disciplines: environmentalist, medicine doctor, sociologist, gender specialist, epidemiologist, sanitary engineer, specialist of geographical information system, and geographer had met several times during the research period and adopted a certain number of resolutions to facilitate the control of the team work on the field.
They were also different meeting with the Community members and actors of technical support on the fields as co-researchers to implement different aspects of the research
Figure 2: Process of application of the methodological tools
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Many results were obtained with this important research. We had only given here some important points of these results. The study area is characterized by:
- Rapid Grow of the population in the main towns of the area: Koupela and Pouytenga knew a remarkable growth between 1979 and 2001, respectively 12 681 more inhabitants (127.8% increase of the population of reference period) and 36 800 more inhabitants (486.6%), corresponding yearly to an average growth rate of 5.8% and 22.1%, respectively;
- Rapid urbanizations (90 ha in 1979 to 958 ha in 2001 for Pouytenga, and 115 ha to 1663 ha for Koupela at same period);
- Many people have no access to sewerage systems and garbage removal in the town and villages;
- Insufficient drinking water facilities and availability of clean water is a major problem;
- Contamination of drinking water at home is one of the main health threats (related with the mode of transportation of drinking water, figure 6 and the mode of conservation of drinking water at home).
In Pouytenga town, upstream of the dam, the research has revealed, strong density of diffuse type pollution sources: wild deposits of domestic garbage and wastewater outlets in the open area in Pouytenga town. This is the reason of the widespread insalubrities and transfer of
Research project launching Seminary
Preliminary data collection Analysis and interpretation of
secondary data
-Consultations of populations and the local actors acting in the area of survey -Visits of information to the local actors
- Involvement of concerned populations
- Involvement of the administrative, traditional and religious authorities
Conception of tools and specific methodological step development Technical data collection of the specific research
objectives
Analysis and technical result interpretation (socio-economic , cultural, ecological, technical and environmental out put)
- Implication of disciplines - Involvement of populations - Local actor implication, including associations Realized pilot micro - projects in the
villages
Restitution meeting of the research works
- Training of local craftsman
- Sensitization of the beneficiary populations - Involvement of recipients
- Local actors implication workshop to train the research
team on ecosystemic approach
- Involvement of populations
- Involvement of the administrative, traditional and religious authorities
-Involvement of populations and the local actors
-Involvement of researchers
- Involvement of the different disciplines Research project
launching Seminary
Preliminary data collection Analysis and interpretation of
secondary data
-Consultations of populations and the local actors acting in the area of survey -Visits of information to the local actors
- Involvement of concerned populations
- Involvement of the administrative, traditional and religious authorities
Conception of tools and specific methodological step development Technical data collection of the specific research
objectives
Analysis and technical result interpretation (socio-economic , cultural, ecological, technical and environmental out put)
- Implication of disciplines - Involvement of populations - Local actor implication, including associations Realized pilot micro - projects in the
villages
Restitution meeting of the research works
- Training of local craftsman
- Sensitization of the beneficiary populations - Involvement of recipients
- Local actors implication workshop to train the research
team on ecosystemic approach
- Involvement of populations
- Involvement of the administrative, traditional and religious authorities
-Involvement of populations and the local actors
-Involvement of researchers
- Involvement of the different disciplines Research project
launching Seminary
Preliminary data collection Analysis and interpretation of
secondary data
-Consultations of populations and the local actors acting in the area of survey -Visits of information to the local actors
- Involvement of concerned populations
- Involvement of the administrative, traditional and religious authorities
Conception of tools and specific methodological step development Technical data collection of the specific research
objectives
Analysis and technical result interpretation (socio-economic , cultural, ecological, technical and environmental out put)
- Implication of disciplines - Involvement of populations - Local actor implication, including associations Realized pilot micro - projects in the
villages
Restitution meeting of the research works
- Training of local craftsman
- Sensitization of the beneficiary populations - Involvement of recipients
- Local actors implication workshop to train the research
team on ecosystemic approach
- Involvement of populations
- Involvement of the administrative, traditional and religious authorities
-Involvement of populations and the local actors
-Involvement of researchers
- Involvement of the different disciplines Research project
launching Seminary
Preliminary data collection Analysis and interpretation of
secondary data
-Consultations of populations and the local actors acting in the area of survey -Visits of information to the local actors
- Involvement of concerned populations
- Involvement of the administrative, traditional and religious authorities
Conception of tools and specific methodological step development Technical data collection of the specific research
objectives
Analysis and technical result interpretation (socio-economic , cultural, ecological, technical and environmental out put)
- Implication of disciplines - Involvement of populations - Local actor implication, including associations Realized pilot micro - projects in the
villages
Restitution meeting of the research works
- Training of local craftsman
- Sensitization of the beneficiary populations - Involvement of recipients
- Local actors implication workshop to train the research
team on ecosystemic approach
- Involvement of populations
- Involvement of the administrative, traditional and religious authorities
-Involvement of populations and the local actors
-Involvement of researchers - Involvement of the different disciplines
pollutants in the dam and others points of water supply (shallow wells, deep tube wells and reservoirs or natural streams).
Water supply facilities to household consisted of three types in the watershed of Yitenga dam.
The classification by order of importance shows that: individual’s wells represent 66% of water supply facilities, followed by public fountains and borehole (7% of water supply facilities) and public fountains and wells (5% of water supply facilities).
The results show that, as well in city that in villages, more than 50% of the population transports their drinking water with Jars carried on the head or on the bicycle. Following, comes the transportation with barrels towed by a donkey and basins and buckets carried on the head. In town, running pipe water, provided by the National
Water Sanitation Office network (ONEA), is also available in some houses.
The population of the villages and the majority of those in towns (more than 60%) keep their drinking water in the jars at home. The others containers are the barrels and buckets. Usually, the containers are stored outside the houses in corners of the compounds. In general, the drinking water is kept more than one day.
In general, in towns people go to the latrines to relieve themselves, whereas they go to the bush in the villages. The details of the results showed that the fecal peril is a reality in city as well as in villages.
All these results show the evidence of different determinants of the gastro-intestinal diseases risks in the watershed of Yitenga.
From these results the research team and the communities seek for solutions. And some short term actions were carried out to start mitigating the diseases. Medium and Long term interventions planning are on discussion with the different stakeholders and constitute the second phase of the study. These short term actions were:
- Training of two associations based in the villages on how to vulgarize the results of the research in the different communities of the watershed. The training was focus on the understanding of the environmental determinants of diarrhea diseases and searching of the solutions with the different stakeholders;
- Investigations to identify with populations, according to their priorities, pilot projects taking into account their possibilities of financial, material and manpower involvement;
- Choose of the recipients of pilot projects by population themselves;
- 42 improved double pits latrines have been achieved completely and will served to evacuate excreta and liquid garbage of almost 74 households and 64 manure pits that will be useful for the treatment of strong garbage of households
CONCLUSION
The interrelations between the physical, socio-cultural, economic, legal factors of the ecosystem and the risks of water related diseases in general and Gastro-intestinal diseases in particular, was study in the watershed of Yitenga dam
Results showed that the social context is marked by a low rate of household access to drinking water systems, a dominance of indecent traditional sanitation infrastructures, a wild solid waste disposal, a weak level of bodily and food hygiene, practices of household rearing of animals, a dominance of unsanitary traditional habitats, and a low rate of schooling. All these
factors increased the risks of human health deterioration in general and gastro-intestinal diseases in particular. Some short term actions were carried out to start mitigating the diseases.
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