12 March 2021
At the end of February 2021, water, hygiene and sanitation infrastructures built in Dapelogo, in the Central Plateau region of Burkina Faso, were officially inaugurated in the presence of the local authorities.
Built within the framework of the project to improve the capacity of communities to ensure sustainable drinking water supply and sanitation for their populations in Burkina Faso, these facilities consist of an autonomous water station for a local school, as well as two blocks of latrines.
“In 2020, as part of this project supported by the City of Luxembourg, Pharmaciens Sans Frontières and the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Red Cross teams carried out an assessment of the situation in the schools in order to detect possible vulnerabilities thus engendering the works being carried out,” explains Dr Raymond Ligban, representative of the Luxembourg Red Cross in Burkina Faso.
For this first phase of the project, 2 human-powered pumps, 3 autonomous water stations and 10 latrine blocks have been installed in 10 schools in the Dapélogo, Pabré and Tanghin-Dassouri. The representative of the Luxembourg Red Cross underlines: “We are delighted that parts of the works have been completed. Pupils of Manessa A will now have access to water at school. They will be able to wash their hands, use clean latrines and even plant trees in the school yard to combat the harmful effects of climate change.
As a Sahelian country, Burkina Faso is regularly affected by epidemics, and access to water is essential. In addition to the water station inaugurated at the beginning of this year, the Luxembourg Red Cross, in partnership with the Burkina Faso Red Cross, plans to build five autonomous water stations and five blocks of latrines with three additional stalls by 2021, benefiting 10 schools.