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Irrigation, health and food safety in Africa: How are they linked? |
Cahiers Agricultures. Volume 11, Number 1, 9-15, Janvier - Février 2002, Cultures irriguées, santé, nutrition, productions
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 Résumé
Article gratuit
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Author(s) : Gérard Parent, Jean-Noël Poda, Noël-Marie Zagré, Renaud de Plaen, Georges Courade |
Summary : The long-standing debate on the relationship between health and water facilities has been the subject of many articles and continues to be raised at conferences and in the scientific press. This interest is a reflection of the amount of research going on in the field, and of the importance of the topic in terms of its impact on human well-being and development.
This paper presents the main themes discussed at the international conference held in Ouagadougou in November 2000 on how water, health and nutrition are inter-related. The organisers hope it will provide an overview of the main concerns and teachings of the conference.
The authors begin by outlining the overall theme: the continuing debate on the actual and presumed consequences of water facilities on children's health and nutrition. They go on to agree that in all regions that have to cope with both lack of food safety and rainfall shortages, water management and irrigation on a large or small scale are still essential factors in development. The usefulness of hydro-agricultural projects was therefore not called into question; nor was it thought necessary to decide between agricultural and health programmes, much less to bring health and agricultural specialists into conflict. The aim was to encourage the various partners involved in this area of development that an integral approach to managing water resources was vital. From a representative sample of the conference papers, the authors made a diagnosis of the situation in Africa and then put forward some recommendations. The papers discussed the following themes, which were investigated in various practical, socio-cultural and economic contexts:
- Changes in some water-related infectious diseases, such as malaria, bilharzia and diarrhoeal illnesses.
- Changes in household food safety and child nutrition.
- Changes in plant food production, taking account of irrigation management on the one hand and workers' health on the other.
- The specific case of market gardening in urban areas.
- The effectiveness of methods used to restrict the spread of vectors and to treat polluted water.
Taking account of the papers' findings, the authors have drawn their own conclusions and made specific and general recommendations to communities, decision-makers, political leaders and researchers. |
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