Several African experts, specialists in sanitation, met at the end of October in Durban, South Africa, to review the sludge management toolbox developed at international level, at two workshops organised by the AfWA led Rasop Africa programme. A large-scale sanitation programme implemented in 5 African capitals thanks to financing by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The aim of the first workshop was to contextualise the sludge management toolbox or FSM TOOL BOX, taking into account African realities and constraints. Asians and Europeans made this important decision-making support tool, with financial support from the same foundation. The FSM TOOL BOX strategically and structurally defines all the stages, methods and procedures for establishing an adequate management sludge management system. The second workshop made it possible “for African experts and the designers of this toolbox to have joint discussions, with a view to standardising their various approaches” said Doctor Mbaye MBENGUERE, Coordinator of the Rasop Africa programme.

The resolutions of these two workshops will be disseminated at local level, in the target communes. The long-term aim is to achieve the setting up of an AfWA labelled sludge management toolbox.