A Hybrid Model for Achieving Universal Safe Drinking Water in the Medium-Sized City of Bangangté (Cameroon)

Abstract

Providing everyone with safe drinking water is a moral imperative. Yet, sub-Saharan Africa seems unable to achieve “safe drinking water for all” by 2030. This sad situation calls for a closer examination of the water supply options for both rural and urban populations. Commonly, two main aspects are considered: (1) behavioural responses to available or potential water supply options, and (2) socio-economic acceptability. These aspects determine the feasibility and the affordability of bringing safe drinking water as a basic good and human right to everyone. There is a broad consensus that achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6.1 is mostly a financial issue, especially in low-income settings. This communication challenges this view as water is available everywhere and affordable treatment options are well-known. It considers the decentralized water supply model as a reference or standard approach in low-income settings rather than as an alternative. Here, the medium-sized city of Bangangté in the western region of Cameroon is used to demonstrate that universal safe drinking water will soon be possible. In fact, during the colonial period, the residences of the elite and the main institutions, including the administrative quarter, churches, and hospital, have been supplied with clean water from various local sources. All that is needed is to consider everyone as important or accept safe drinking water as human right. First, we present a historical background on water supply in the colonial period up to 1980. Second, the drinking water supply systems and water demand driven by population growth are discussed. Finally, a hybrid model for the achieving of universal access to clean drinking water, and preconditions for its successful implementation, are presented. Overall, this communication calls for a shift from safe drinking water supply approaches dominated by centralized systems, and presents a transferable hybrid model to achieve universal clean drinking water.

Integrated Water Management in Mountain Communities: The Case of Feutap in the Municipality of Bangangté, Cameroon

“…The Kilimanjaro Concept (KC) has been recently presented for integrated water resources management in hilly regions [8,9]. On the other hand, the use of cisterns to warrant water supply in mountain communities is a very old decentralized solution [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. This communication is about integrated water management in mountain communities, including safe drinking water supply.…”

“…The applicability of the KC in a rural district of the city of Bangangté is presented. In a recent paper, Nya et al [19] presented a hybrid model for achieving universal safe drinking water in the urban area of this medium-sized city in the Western Region of Cameroon.…”

Kanchan Arsenic Filters for Household Water Treatment: Unsuitable or Unsustainable?

“…Accordingly, a prerequisite would be to install equipped (and accredited) analytical laboratories and make them accessible in areas of concern. There are even increasing calls for the equipping of analytical water laboratories everywhere, including in low-income countries [42,47,[88][89][90][91][92]. Based on analytical results, there are three options: (i) continue using the filter as far as the filtered water quality remains good; (ii) abandon it when its performance drops because of lack of maintenance, and (iii) clean it immediately when the analytical results suggest so.…”

The complex nature of household water supply: an evidence-based assessment of urban water access in Southwest Nigeria

“…It is a cardinal objective of the sustainable development goal 6 (SDG 6), which stipulates 'safe drinking water for all'. Evidently, sub-Saharan Africa is not likely to achieve the SDGs, particularly SDG6.1, because several African populations still lack safe drinking water (Nya et al 2021). This suggests the need to examine existing water access based on available data.…”

“…Many large cities in China, India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America (classified as the developing world) that are not connected to the piped water system have to rely on public wells or taps (Briand et al 2009). 'The conditions of access vary significantly with a considerable heterogeneity among households (Klassert et al 2015), as all households do not have the same options of water sources to choose from' (Nauges & Whittington 2009;Huang et al 2021;Nya et al 2021), although 'institutional and geographical barriers deny certain people access to some water sources' (Nyong 1998). Availability of water or access to specific sources may demand certain characteristics based on the intended use.…”