The Djibouti National Office for Water and Sanitation (ONEAD) is preparing to welcome the members of the African Water Association as part of the 80th meetings of the Scientific and Technical Council. In preparation for this important meeting, the AfWA news editorial team met with the Managing Director of ONEAD, Mr. Mohamed FOUAD ABDO. This interview discusses preparations for the STC and current situation of access to sanitation and water in Djibouti.

Mr. Director General, could you introduce ONEAD to us?

The Djibouti National Office for Water and Sanitation is a public industrial and commercial utility that will celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2019. We were first a water service created with the Franco-Ethiopian railway, then Public Water Agency in 1949, National Office of Waters in 1949 and, finally, ONEAD in 2007, created from the merging of the former ONED and the Directorate of Sanitation.

Today, the Office is undergoing major changes and faces serious challenges, given the geostrategic position of our young Republic, making it a regional hub, the increasing development of urbanization and climatic phenomena. Djibouti has turned to its neighbour with whom it maintains longstanding relations to alleviate the almost invariable water stress that we are experiencing, by initiating a cross-border water supply project for the transport of drinking water from Ethiopia. As a result, some 358 km of network have been installed, providing an additional volume of 100,000 m3 / d. With the support of the European Union, a desalination plant with a capacity of 22,500 m3 will be operational in 2020.

ONEAD is also about sanitation; another challenge to be met with the atypical topography of our country. Solutions are recommended, such as doubling the capacity of the STEP (currently 40,000 EH), the construction of a second wastewater treatment plant in Balbala, and pilot projects for sanitation with innovative technologies.

The 80th meetings of the Scientific and Technical Council and Exhibition of AfWA will be held from November 19 to 23 in Djibouti. How does ONEAD prepare this event?

We already have the experience from the successful organization of the previous STC in 2008. The same team is in charge of the preparations for the event: I do not have any doubts about the success of this meeting. The agenda includes conferences, thematic workshops, film projections, as well as an exhibition where professionals from the water and sanitation sector will exhibit their products or latest technological advances in this sector. Our public, local and international partners are also invited to attend this conference and many have already confirmed their participation. Djibouti is often called the land of welcome and exchange, we will try to not distort the spirit of this maxim and by the same to not disappoint our guests thanks to the hospitality with which we honor them.

ONEAD and STC have proposed a theme entitled "Technological innovation to improve the performance and output of water and sanitation operators in Africa". What is the rationale for choosing such a theme? What experience do you have to share on the subject?

We are introducing innovative technologies in the water sector with Neroxis Veolia’s Kapta probes for real-time monitoring and security of drinking water networks. This technology was used for the first time at COP21. As regards sanitation, we will soon be experimenting with vacuum sanitation in a residential area of the capital and plan to extend it later to other areas of the city.

We’ll also develop the Nadiff Center project with Valterra International, which offers a solution called WATA SANITATION SYSTEM enabling private and public players to ensure the dumping and treatment of waste materials in urban areas under conditions of optimal environmental impact.

What is the current situation regarding access to sanitation and water in the country and how does ONEAD contribute to its improvement and the achievement of Goal 6 of the SDGs?

We are working to meet SDG 6 objectives, with the support of our development partners. To this end, we promote access to water and sanitation services to low-income households through the use of preferential and social tariff policies. In addition, we are also working with civil society to democratize access to these basic services. With regard to the awareness-raising, we are working with the municipality of Djibouti to conduct training workshops for elected officials on the roles they should play with civil society and local communities. During these workshops, we partnered with the Institut National de l’Administration Publique (INAP) on the water and sanitation issue in Djibouti. Furthermore, REDFEPEA also organized, last July, an open house day in the water and sanitation facilities to raise awareness about the daily work done by a water dispenser.