Northern Cameroon: Bucket chlorination for treatment of epidemic cholera

Published on: 04/05/2011

Bucket chlorination is a method for reducing the spread of cholera. This lethal disease derives from bacteria (vibrio cholera). The vibrio, which can be spread by water must be treated. An effective treatment for water is to add chlorine.

In Africa, one problem is that most of the water is not treated, even in distribution pipes. Therefore a lot of pathogens can be carried by water.

The population of Cameroon is more than 19 million (2009) of whom only 6% live in the far North. The bucket chlorination scheme is based on Kolofata, a town with a public health centre, and covers 20 villages in the department of Mayo-Sava with a total population of about 29,000 people. Mayo-Sava is one of two departments that were affected by a cholera epidemic.

Open well in Northern Cameroon

In the 20 villages in this case study, everyone draws water from wells. There is tap water in only two villages, and this water is sold. In order for the water to be treated effectively the following rules should be followed:

• Each new case of cholera is checked by the health centre
• The health centre informed the centre chlorination team
• The team goes to the village, analyses the water and checks the wells
• When a community is affected by the disease, all wells receive water treatment.

In the village, all wells are checked. The water is analysed (pH, conductivity, turbidity) and a plan for chlorination is established by the team. A guardian is chosen for each well in the village to take care of the chlorination process. The guardian receives some training and materials. He stays close to the well and treats water inside the bucket drawn by people.

Drawn water is used mainly for drinking and cooking, and sometimes washing. Usually, people continue to go mainly to Mayo for washing (body or clothes).

Women washing at river

This study was completed in a very short period and at the end of the wet season. Does the population change its practices during the dry season? Without any field research, it is difficult to know, but when Mayo’s river is dry, there is no doubt that the population changes its customs.

Conclusion

Knowledge about water consumption is prerequisite to establish water protection. Information is necessary to evaluate the needs of the population to create new facilities. To know the rules and habits is most important for success.

Several studies and reports show that women (with children) are the ones, who draw water. Consequently they are the first to undergo the lack of it as well as the hardness in drawing water and this irrefutable fact, prevents them to go to school, and they have not another choice than to be housewife.

To assure the durability of water resources, integrated suitable water management should be a priority. That is the assurance for a future of the population. Water resource management has many compounds that need to be addressed.

For more information read:

• Hugonin, P. (2010). Kolofata : la moyenne d'eau puisée par la chloration au puits : septembre et octobre 2010. Geneva, Switzerland, pHsoluces. Download report at http://www.phsoluces.eu/ (click on Rapports)
• Tiogang Djomo, M.M. ... [et al.] (2008). Valeur économique de l’amélioration de l’approvisionnement en eau potable des zones rurales au Cameroun [Economic value of the improvement of safe water supply in rural areas in Cameroon]. Tropicultura ; vol. 26, no. 4 ; p. 224-228. Download article

Patricia Aline HUGONIN, Ingénieure HES, dipl. EPFL, Water specialist, [pat.hugonin@gmail.com]