This report (french version) is a joint WaSH-survey carried out in the subsaharan cameroonian capital Yaoundé in dry season 2012 within the framework of German bilateral cooperation with Cameroon. The report is authored by the National Institute of Statistics (NIS/INS) Yaoundé and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) Hannover with participation of the IHPH University Bonn, the University of Yaoundé 1 and HRC/IRGM in Yaoundé.

The quality and usage of groundwater by the urban population of Yaoundé/Cameroon at the end of dry season 2012 was the focus of a joint « Water, Sanitation and Health » survey, linking quantitative survey techniques with a joint field- and laboratory campaign (microbiological and chemical parameters). Results and conclusions were drawn with the aid of an Open Source geographic information system (QGIS, PostGreSQL, PostGIS) and are presented as thematic maps. The survey with 220 questions reached 4396 individuals in 1136 households, covering water supply - including groundwater use -, waste water discharge, hygiene, waste discharge and epidemiological aspects. Five hydrologically and socially different urban environments were studied in greater detail. The recommendations adressing major deficits in water supply, discharge and hygiene and health status are in line with a number of earlier works by local researchers. They call for concerted multi-tier action and investment in the subsector to improve living conditions to attain Millenium Development Goals. More than 60 % of the population have to resort to urban groundwater to fulfil their basic water needs at a low median consumption of approximately 25 l/person*day. With distance from groundwater recharge areas the shallow groundwater is becoming strongly anthropogenic in quality with sodium, nitrate, chloride, ammonium and potassium being the dominant dissolved ions – derived from urine. In spite of bi-annual rapid groundwater recharge with very dilute tropical rainwater, more than 50 % of groundwater samples exceed the WHO guideline value for nitrate of 50 mg/l. Microbiological investigation of all water points show a consistent influence of fecal bacteria at a majority of water points reflecting poor management and a proximity of numerous contamination sources. Both the microbiological and the chemical groundwater quality highlight the constant additional water-bourne health risk incurred by the urban population. The bad quality contributes to the high prevalence of gastro-intestinal diseases. It is of particular risk to children under the age of five, of which a significant percentage were found to have anemic conditions. Keywords: Groundwater, contamination, urban, sanitation, hygiene, microbiology, hydrochemistry, survey, GIS, Cameroon, nitrate, ammonium, chloride, tropical, laterite

Bibliographic information

INS, Yaoundé, Cameroon and BGR, Hannover, Germany (2013). Etude Pilote Sur La Pollution Des Eaux De Surface Et Souterraines a Yaounde Et Son Impact Sur La Sante Des Populations Riveraines (in French) National Institute of Statistics (NIS/INS) Yaoundé and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR)

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