CBMS. Report on the Census on the Living Conditions of the Households of the 13th District of Cotonou. 6th PEP Research Network General Meeting

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1 CBMS 6th PEP Research Network General Meeting Sheraton Lima Hotel, Paseo dela Republica 170 Lima, Peru June 14-16, 2007 Report on the Census on the Living Conditions of the Households of the 13th District of Cotonou Marie Odile Attanasso Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas For more information about the 6th PEP Research Network General Meeting, please visit: ww.pep-net.org

2 INTRODUCTION One of the major objectives of the economic policy of Benin is the reduction of poverty in the short-term and its eradication in the long-term. The battle against poverty has paved the way for the installation of socio-economic programs geared to help low income groups and the most underprivileged departments. By engaging in the development of the Strategy Document on Poverty Reduction (SDPR), the Beninese authorities were conscious of the importance of the stake for the future of Benin. The SDPR defined the types of strong and lasting growth strategies which would be advisable to adopt for the reduction of poverty. To accompany this policy of combating poverty, it is important to monitor the evolution of the poverty profile of the country to determine if the development programs do improve the condition of the poor. For this, it is not only necessary to have tools for collection and analysis of data to find out the standard of living and the tendencies and characteristics of people in situations of poverty and precariousness. It is also essential that the local communities be involved in each stage of monitoring/evaluation of the SDPR in order to lead to an internalization of the process and a real capitalization of the results. Thus SSCP/Bénin (Community Follow-up System of Poverty) proposes, in a context of decentralization, to observe the living conditions of the populations on relatively limited groups (like the communes and/or the municipalities of the country). This methodology of monitoring the living conditions of the households falls within the framework of the SDPR in a context of decentralization where the first local and communal elections took place in December 2002 and January Established in Benin in 2005, the SSCP carried out its pilot test in the 13th district 1 of Cotonou. The collected data relate to the socio-demographic characteristics of the households (age, level of education, matrimonial statute, etc), the characteristics of the dwelling (construction materials, etc.) and to the conditions of existence (mode of lighting, water supply, etc). 1 This district is composed of the areas of Agla, Ahogbohouè, Aibatin, Gbedegbé, Houénoussou and Missité. 1

3 This pilot census will be used to establish projects of general interest such as construction of schools, cultural and sporting facilities, etc. It will be also used for the development of master development plans. For the private actors, it will be used in the establishment projects of companies (description of manpower available in place) or businesses and services (potential market offered by the inhabitants, etc). For example, the authorization for the establishment of a pharmacy in a commune is related to the population of the commune. This report which presents the results of the pilot census aims for a better understanding of the characteristics of the poor households of this district as well as a better appreciation of their living conditions. It also aims to define better strategies of combatting poverty. Strategic Recommandations The census on the living conditions of the populations of the 13th district made it possible to realize the disparities of the living conditions per area. Basing on the information makes it possible to better target the strategies of poverty reduction. Thus, the local authorities are able to define the means to facilitate: access to social housing considering the number of households living in properties without a title: Ahogbohouè and Houénoussou access to electricity for the populations which still use the hurricane lamp: Agla, Ahogbohouè and Houénoussou access to running water for the population that still use water from protected or unprotected wells taking into account the distance from the water table and the hygienic conditions of the city of Cotonou: Missité and Aïbatin access to domestic gas or an improved hearth: for all the households of the 13th district who mostly use charcoal or firewood the installation of public or private garbage collection services: for all the households of the 13 th district; in particular in Gbèdégbé and Ahogbohouè the installation of public latrines to reduce defecation in nature: Ahogbohouè, Houénoussou and Agla 2

4 the construction of school infrastructures of primary education level: Agla if we take into consideration the time needed to reach a primary school the construction of first cycle colleges and high schools: Gbèdegbé considering the subjective appreciation of time needed in order to reach socio-community facilities the installation of a public transport system to serve the 13th district in order to reduce air pollution induced by the motor bike taxis or the zémidjan the construction of a public health center: Agla considering the size of its population and the distance to be traversed by the inhabitants in order to reach a public health facility Awareness operations need to be made in certain areas for an improvement of the framework of life and a reduction of diseases. It relates to awareness on: the management of household waste: the entire district is concerned but particular stress must be made in Gbèdegbé and Ahogbohouè the management of waste water: also to be focused on are the areas of Gbèdegbé, Missité and Agla the non-use of the lampion in the households: Gbèdegbé, Houénoussou and Ahogbohouè the use of water from rivers, lakes or ponds as a source of water supply: Agla, Missité and Aïbatin, 3

5 CONCLUSION The census on the conditions of existence of the households made it possible to determine the individual and community difficulties which the households of the 13th district live with. All in all, the majority of the heads of household lack financial resources to provide for the needs of their family, the populations are confronted with problems of cleansing, insalubrity, health, etc. The results urge the local authorities like the NGOs and development associations to come to the aid of the populations in order to improve their standard of living and their conditions of existence. The calculated indicators constitute a reference index in defining local strategies of development for the local authorities, NGOs and development associations. These indicators of conditions of existence must be monitored through periodic censuses. This monitoring will especially make it possible for the local authorities to be better informed on the level, the tendencies and the characteristics of people in situations of poverty and precariousness. Moreover, it will enable them to better direct and target the actions which they must carry out in their localities. In the same way, they will be able to easily note the improvements of the living conditions of the households and the effects, positive as well as negative, of the actions as that they would have undertaken in favor of the poor. Lastly, if it is essential that the local authorities adapt this system of Community monitoring of poverty, it is also necessary that the populations be completely involved and internalize this mechanism for a better monitoring of the actions and assistance given to them. 4