MG 63920 Water & Incinerators for Fianarantsoa Madagascar

The Rotary Foundation Matching Grant #63920

This project addresses the lack of permanent water supplies and medical waste disposal facilities at 20 of the most highly frequented health clinics serving over 260,000 people in the Fianarantsoa II district participating in SantéNet’s PI activities. At these locations, a year round water supply will be assured through the construction of rainwater collection systems to provide a source of safe drinking water during the four month dry season when piped community water supplies have dried up. Incinerators will be built to ensure the proper disinfection and disposal of hazardous medical wastes.

The district of Fianarantsoa II is located in Madagascar’s high plateau region in the south central part of the country. This region is characterized by grass-covered hills with steep slopes descending to patty rice covered valleys. Extensive deforestation and the resulting land degradation is characteristic of the region. The geographic and geologic conditions of the FII district create problems when searching for technical solutions to provide an adequate community water supply. Wells in the region typically must be over 30m (90ft) deep before reaching a highly fluctuating water table. Similarly, piped water supply systems are expensive because most villages are 4-5 km (2 –3) miles from a perminate spring souce. In these cases, the cost of piping (over $2 per meter) prohibits the construction of piped community water supply systems. In villages where piped water supplies and wells exist they are often dry for four months of the year (August – November).