Adonou, Ahodjinako, Dogoe-Déta, Helli et Lokoli, des villages de la commune Lalo, sont désormais desservis par un Système d'Approvisionnement en Eau Potable multi-villageois (SAEPmV).
Dans l'arrondissement d'Ahodjinako, commune de Lalo, l'accès à l'eau potable n'est plus une promesse mais une réalité tangible pour les populations.
Dépendants pendant longtemps des cours d'eau et des bas-fonds pour leurs besoins quotidiens, les habitants sont désormais desservis par un Système d'Approvisionnement en Eau Potable multi-villageois (SAEPmV). « Avant, nous allions chercher l'eau dans les champs, au niveau du fleuve Couffo », se souvient DOHOU Akohovi, bénéficiaire d'un branchement à domicile. « Aujourd'hui, c'est un véritable soulagement », ajoute-t-il, évoquant une amélioration nette des conditions de vie de sa famille.
Le SAEPmV d'Ahodjinako a été dimensionné pour répondre aux besoins actuels tout en anticipant l'avenir. En 2020, les cinq villages comptaient 9 732 habitants. Les projections portent cette population à 13 755 habitants en 2030 et à 19 440 à l'horizon 2040.
Le système repose sur le forage de Adonou-Kinta, d'une profondeur de 150 mètres, avec un débit exploité de 19 m³ par heure, extensible pour couvrir les besoins sur au moins vingt ans. L'infrastructure comprend également un château d'eau de 200 m³, 20 bornes-fontaines, et un réseau de distribution de plus de 30 kilomètres de conduites.
Des effets visibles sur la santé et le budget des ménages
Si les branchements individuels progressent, les bornes-fontaines restent essentielles, notamment en saison sèche. À Adonou, GNONLONFOUN Martine, fontainière, observe une forte variation de la demande. « En saison sèche, on peut vendre pour environ 1 000 francs CFA par jour, parfois plus, contre 500 francs en saison pluvieuse », explique-t-elle.
Le tarif est fixé à 15 francs CFA le bidon de 25 litres, un prix jugé accessible, mais la pression sur les points d'eau reste forte. « Une seule borne-fontaine ne suffit pas pour tout le village, surtout en saison sèche », reconnaît-elle, appelant à une multiplication des branchements domestiques.
Au-delà du confort, l'impact sanitaire est l'un des bénéfices les plus immédiatement perceptibles. « Avant, l'eau sale rendait souvent les gens malades », affirme Xavi Bernard, chef du village d'Ahodjinako. « Aujourd'hui, les maladies diminuent et les dépenses de santé aussi ».
Un constat partagé par DOHOU Akohovi, qui souligne que la fin des maladies récurrentes liées à l'eau permet désormais aux ménages de consacrer leurs ressources à d'autres priorités.
L'objectif : un branchement par ménage
Sur le terrain, un consensus se dégage : l'avenir du service passe par la généralisation des branchements à domicile. « Si chaque ménage a l'eau chez lui, la pression sur les bornes va baisser », estime la fontainière d'Adonou. La question du coût reste centrale. Le tarif de 10 000 francs CFA pour un branchement, lorsqu'il est appliqué, est perçu par les habitants comme un levier déterminant pour favoriser l'accès des familles rurales à l'eau potable.
People take part in an anti-corruption protest in Kathmandu, Nepal on 8 September 2025. Credit: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters via Gallo Images
By Mandeep S.Tiwana
NEW YORK, Dec 24 2025 (IPS)
2025 has been a terrible year for democracy. Just over 7 per cent of the world’s population now live in places where the rights to organise, protest and speak out are generally respected, according to the CIVICUS Monitor, a civil society research partnership that measures civic freedoms around the world. This is a sharp drop from over 14 per cent this time last year.
Civic freedoms underpin healthy democracies, and the consequences of this stifling of civil society are apparent. At the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, the world is experiencing 19th century levels of economic inequality. The wealth of the richest 1 per cent is surging while some 8 per cent of the world’s population – over 670 million people – suffer from chronic hunger. Weapons-producing firms, closely intertwined with political elites, are reaping windfall profits as death and destruction rains down in Gaza, Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine and many other places. It should surprise no one that the political leaders fomenting these conflicts are also squashing civic freedoms to avert questions about their motivations.
From Lima to Los Angeles, Belgrade to Dar es Salaam and Jenin to Jakarta, far too many people are being denied the agency to shape the decisions that impact their lives. Yet these places have also been the site of significant protests against governments this year. Even as authoritarianism appears to be on the march, people are continuing to pour onto the streets to insist on their freedoms. As we speak people in Sofia in Bulgaria are demonstrating in large numbers against endemic corruption which recently forced the government to resign.
History shows that mass demonstrations can lead to major advances. In the 20th century, people’s mobilisations helped achieve women’s right to vote, liberation of colonised peoples and adoption of civil rights legislation to address race-based discrimination. In the 21st century, advances have been made in marriage equality and other LGBTQI+ rights, and in highlighting the climate crisis and economic inequality through protests. But in 2025, the right to protest, precisely because it can be effective, is under assault by authoritarian leaders. Around the world, the detention of protesters is the number one recorded violation of civic freedoms, closely followed by arbitrary detentions of journalists and human rights defenders who expose corruption and rights violations.
This backsliding is now happening in major established democracies. This year, the CIVICUS Monitor downgraded Argentina, France, Germany, Italy and the USA to an ‘obstructed’ civic space rating, meaning the authorities impose significant constraints on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights. This regression is being driven by anti-rights nationalist and populist forces determined to degrade constitutional checks and balances and advance ballot box majoritarianism that denies minorities a fair say in economic, political and social life.
The push to degrade democracy by anti-rights forces now coming to fruition has been many years in the making. It accelerated this year with the return of Donald Trump. His administration immediately withdrew support to international democracy support programmes and instead built links to politicians responsible for crushing civic freedoms and committing grotesque human rights violations. Trump has laid out of the red carpet to El-Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, Hungary’s Victor Orbán, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, ushering in a new era of values-free might-is-right diplomacy that threatens to undermine decades of painstaking progress achieved by civil society.
The fallout is clear. Many wealthy democratic governments that traditionally fund civil society activities have significantly reduced their contributions. At the same time, they have linked their remaining support for civil society to narrowly defined strategic military and economic interests. In doing so, they have played directly into the hands of powerful authoritarian states such as China, Egypt, Iran, Nicaragua and Venezuela that seek to discredit domestic calls for accountability. Countries including Ecuador and Zimbabwe have introduced laws to limit the ability of civil society organisations to receive international funding.
All these developments are negatively impacting on civil society efforts for equality, peace and social justice. Yet the story of 2025 is also one of persistent resistance, and some successes. The courage demonstrated by Generation Z protesters has inspired people around the world. In Nepal, protests triggered by a social media ban led to the fall of the government, offering hope for a much-needed political reset. In Kenya, young protesters continued to take to the streets to demand political reform despite state violence. In Moldova, a cash-rich disinformation campaign run by a fugitive oligarch failed to sway the course of the national election away from human rights values. In the USA, the number of people joining the No-Kings protests just keeps on growing.
With over 90 per cent of the world’s population living with the institutional denial of full civic freedoms, anti-rights forces must be feeling pretty smug right now. But democratic dissent is brewing, particularly among Generation Z, denied political and economic opportunities but understanding that another world – one more equal, just, peaceful and environmentally sustainable – is possible. It’s far from game over yet, and even in difficult times, people will demand freedoms – and breakthroughs may be just around the corner.
Mandeep S Tiwana is Secretary General of CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance.
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