Cameroon receives UN public service award

Cameroon happens to be amongst the 14 countries honoured by the UN for their innovative projects in fighting poverty and promoting sustainable development.

The forum and award ceremony took place from June 23 to 26, 2014, in Seoul, Republic of Korea, organised by the United Nations Development, Economic and Social Affairs, DESA, in partnership with the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of the Women, UN Women.

During the high level awards ceremony under the theme, “Innovating Governance for Sustainable Development,” June 26, 19 participants benefited from the Awards and had the privilege to be presented to the delegations from around the globe.

Two of the winners, who hail from Cameroon, were Celestine Ketcha Courtes, from Bangangté and Flaubert Djateng from Bafoussam.

Cameroon’s winning project this year involved sustainable work in the water sector and sanitation. This could clearly be seen with Bangante, a community located in the Ndé Division, Western Region of Cameroon.

It has 200,000 inhabitants, in which the urban part includes only 10 percent of the population and the rest lives in remote villages.

In 2010, only 15 percent of the rural population had access to drinking water and proper sanitation, mainly due to the failure of the system of organisation and maintenance of rural hydraulic structures.

Through the MODEAB project, the state helped provide a sustainable solution to the sanitation problem. It rehabilitated mini water supply structures to groups of villages, constructed ecological latrines in schools and markets, with recovery of urine for fertilising.

The state also established a public water service at the municipal level in each group of villages that received the rehabilitations.

The real innovation is the management system. The experience of the partners led to the development of a completely new system based on the operation of three entities that work in synergy with each other to ensure a sustainable and optimal management of infrastructure.

The project has already increased the coverage of drinking water needs by 50 percent and it has established a sustainable management system of these infrastructures.

The project is based on a territorial approach and promotes an approach that involves all public and private stakeholders in the definition of water policy in the area.

Socially, it has had an impact in civil society engagement, considering the fact that issues on the water supply management actions to be implemented to improve access to drinking water are discussed monthly.

The winner countries were graded into first place and second place winners. And Cameroon is amongst the second place winners, alongside, Bahrain, Brazil, India, Republic of Korea and Spain.