Paper short abstract:

This work explores how perceptions of the risks of water-related diseases and endogenous resilience practices are constructed on a daily basis around hydro-agricultural dams in Burkina Faso

Paper long abstract:

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region most affected by climate change. In this region, many countries face food insecurity problems caused by drought. In Burkina Faso, where rural populations are confronted with such crises, decision-makers have adopted policies to build large hydro-agricultural dams in order to alleviate water shortages. The aim is to provide farmers with water for irrigation. While these dams are said to help solve the food problems of local populations, they are also the source of numerous health risks (S. Kibret et al., 2019). The aim of this research was to identify perceptions of disease risk among populations living near the Soum dam, a fairly recent infrastructure and one of the most important in Burkina Faso. The aim was to understand how these populations themselves construct the relationship between water and disease in their environment. In other words, how local residents think about the causes of water-related illnesses in their living and working environment. It is also a question of noting how they name them, and the endogenous resilience strategies they implement on a daily basis to combat these threats. The aim of this research was to deconstruct the concepts of "risk perception" and "resilience". The results of this work are the fruit of socio-anthropological research involving individual interviews, focus groups, informal interviews and participant observation.