TOGO: AWF pledges €1.2m for sanitation in nine urban centres

1.2 million will be provided over two years. The loan from the African Water Facility (AWF), a multilateral water fund administered and managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), which supports and facilitates the mobilisation of resources, will enable the work of the Promotion of Inclusive Sanitation in Urban Centres (PAICUT) project to begin. The initiative was recently launched by the Togolese Minister of Water and Village Hydraulics, Bolidja Tiem.

The Togolese government will provide the other part of the funding needed to implement the sanitation project, i.e. 116.7 million CFA francs, approximately 178,000 euros. PAICUT aims to provide “efficient” sanitation services in Dzrekpo centre in the Maritime region, in Kati, Avetonou and Zogbegan in the Plateaux region, in Atchangbade and Sara in the Kara region, and in Sagbibou, Biagou & Batebogou and Boade centre in the Savanes region. The project will build new fecal sludge treatment plants.

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The faecal sludge will be converted into natural fertiliser, thus reducing the excessive use of chemical fertilisers in the agricultural sector. The project will also rehabilitate existing faecal sludge treatment plants, notably in Sokodé, in the Central Region. In addition to improving the living conditions of the population, PAICUT aims to reduce open defecation. In November 2021, the Togolese authorities estimated that 15% of households in urban areas still practise open defecation, and 75% in rural areas.

The two-year project to promote inclusive sanitation in urban centres will also support the preparation of the investments needed to provide inclusive integrated waste management services in Togolese cities.

Inès Magoum