Access
According to the Joint Monitoring Program of the World Health Organization and UNICEF, three quarters of the Beninese population had access to an improved water source in 2008, whereas 12% had access to improved sanitation. The share rose from 63% concerning water and from 5% concerning sanitation in 1990. Coverage in urban areas is considerably higher than in rural areas.
| Access to Water and Sanitation in Benin (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urban (41% of the population) |
Rural (59% of the population) |
Total | ||
| Water | Improved water source | 84% | 69% | 75% |
| Piped on premises | 26% | 2% | 12% | |
| Sanitation | Improved sanitation | 24% | 4% | 12% |
Significant differences in water supply coverage were found among regions. The situation depends on the accessibility to ground water, the geographic orientation of donor investment programs and the effective demand of the inhabitants of a community or region. In urban areas, lack of access to safe water is mostly concentrated in the outskirts of cities.
The national government uses another definition of access, under which water supply coverage was 50% in urban and peri-urban areas and 41% in rural and semi-urban areas in 2005. The annual water sector review for the financial year 2009 indicated 55,1% access for rural and 57% for urban areas. In order to reach the MDGs, the national government's strategy is to increase coverage to 75% in urban and peri-urban areas and 67.5% in rural and semi-urban areas by 2015. Concerning sanitation, the Ministry of Economic and Financial Development reported that in 2003 67% of the population did not have adequate facilities for the disposal of excrements. The annual sector review indicated an access of households to sanitation facilities of 39,4% and 71,6%, of school children, in 2009.
Read more about this topic: Water Supply And Sanitation In Benin
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