[Community participation for a latrine project in Senegalese rural area]

The rural community of Ngohé faces serious hygiene and sanitation problems because of the poor quality of water, and in particular due to the lack of latrines in shelters. As of 2003, a three-year project for the construction of latrines was initiated within the framework of a donor agency programme to support the health region of Diourbel. After three years of activity, the poor results recorded provided considerable justification for the analysis of community participation in the project. A cross-cutting descriptive and analytical survey was carried out from December 14 -17th, 2005. Two trained investigators collected the data through individual and group interviews. It was found that there was close community participation in the decision-making process to determine which activities would be undertaken; however, it was limited in the areas of need assessment, mobilization and management of resources as well as monitoring and evaluation. Community participation was considered average concerning the implementation of activities. The low rate of latrines (1.7%), correlated with the high proportion of diarrhea as one of the main reason for consultation in 2004 (33.4%) and 2005 (29.4%), expressed the non-achievement of the project's objectives, which was planned to end in 2006. Many projects have shortcomings and pitfalls in their participatory strategy at al phases, especially during that of implementation. Frequently, participation efforts are limited to the recruitment of community participants. The organization and coordination that should accompany and support strategies for community participation must be adapted to the context of the poor and disadvantaged populations, a majority of whom are illiterate, as they are less sensitized to the benefits of hygiene and health promotion. It is the responsibility of health professionals to organize community representatives and to strengthen their capabilities in the field of hygiene and health in order to ensure the community ownership and sustainability of such projects.