Drinking water supply and sanitation in Benin has been subject to considerable progress since the 1990s, in particular in rural areas, where coverage is higher than in many other African countries, and almost all development partners follow a national demand-responsive strategy, which has been adopted in 1992. New strategies to increase water supply in rural and urban areas have been adopted in 2005 and 2006. Tariffs in urban and rural areas are usually high enough to cover the costs for operation and maintenance. However, challenges remain. A coherent institutional framework has been developed for rural areas and projects have been implemented with strong help by external donors. Responsibilities in water supply have been defined in a national strategy in 2007 and the national utility SONEB receives significant support in terms of investment and technical assistance. Sanitation receives less attention. Wastewater treatment hardly exists. In order to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) concerning water and sanitation, the Ministry of Economic and Financial Development estimates that US$80 million and US$22 million, respectively are needed per year from 2006 to 2015. For the sake of comparison, less than US$ 10m per year have been invested in water supply and sanitation in rural areas where 55% of the population of Benin lives. No figures are available on actual investments in urban areas. Most likely, investments would have to increase manifold in order to reach the MDGs.
Access In 2015, in Benin 78% of the population had access to "improved" water, 85% and 72%, in urban and rural areas, respectively. In 2015, there were still around 2 million lacking access to "improved" water. Regarding sanitation, 20% of the population had access to "improved" sanitation, 36% and 7%, in urban and rural areas, respectively. 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.
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.
Definition of urban and rural areas Like in other countries, the Beninese water supply sector is divided into an urban and a rural sector and then is sent over to the poor. However, in the documents rural areas include semi-urban areas and urban areas include peri-urban areas. In 2002, rural and semi-urban areas were defined as settlements with less than 10,000 inhabitants and 22 secondary towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants, whereas the remaining areas were called urban and peri-urban.
Service quality
Continuity of supply Substantial investments in the Greater Cotonou Area have not been effected since 1991. The fast-growing water demand (6 – 8% p.a.) is exceeding the actual design capacity of the well fields, two treatment plants and the distribution system. This results in low water pressure, which often limits the consumption in peripheral areas. Water supply in Cotonou is generally available for 24 hours per day, the system, however is badly affected by power cuts of the Beninese Society of Electricity and Water public energy utility. About 50% of the power demand of pump sets can be provided through generator sets to fill the pipeline system and its water towers. Frequent power failures reduce the reliability of the system. However, substantial extension works are financed and programmed since 2007/2008 with support of major donors (West African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, KfW Entwicklungsbank, Netherlands). Implementation is ongoing (see below).
Drinking water quality There has been no broad assessment about water quality in Benin. Under the framework of a study which analyzed water supply in peri-urban areas of Cotonou, water samples were collected from water kiosks, a water seller, a communal well and Lake Nokoue in the peri-urban Cotonouan districts of Ladji and Vossa. The study concludes that the samples from the water kiosks and the water seller were of good quality. Private water sellers connected to the SONEB utility network are widespread in urban areas, serving households not yet connected to the grid. The Ministry in charge of water and SONEB have fixed a special ‘pro-poor’ tariff for water resale to regulate this phenomenon, in July 2009. Implementation is ongoing in cooperation with local government. Saltwater intrusion has been reported close to Cotonou, where drinking water is withdrawn.
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