According to the Bank’s website, The Secondary Towns Stormwater Drainage Programme (PAPVS) is one of the Government Action Programme (PAG) flagship programmes and is consistent with the National Development Plan (NDP). It concerns eight (8) towns, namely: Abomey, Abomey-Calavi, Bohicon, Natitingou, Ouidah, Parakou, Porto Novo, and Seme Podji. This programme seeks to scale up and consolidate a similar project that is being implemented in Cotonou. With co-financing from other partners such as EIB and BOAD, it is based on an integrated, multi-sector and multi-stakeholder approach to comprehensively mitigate the impacts of stormwater and address other issues such as sustainable waste management and its treatment in a circular economy. The main challenges faced by the PAPVS are: (i) inadequate flood management infrastructure, which is sometimes exacerbated by: inadequate services to the population, particularly in solid waste collection and transportation; and (ii) the people's low resilience to the impacts of climate change. The Bank's operation is a response to the challenge of stormwater management resulting from low hydraulic capacity or lack of infrastructure which negatively impacts access to sanitation facilities and mobility as well during the rainy season and have negative impacts on economic development and the quality of life for people in urban areas. The project has two main components, namely: (i) Construction of resilient stormwater drainage infrastructure and Associated works; (ii) Building the climate resilience of populations and communities with high risk of flooding.

The programme's objective is to clean up the people's living environment in the targeted towns and strengthen their resilience to flooding caused by climate change. Specifically, the project aims to: (i) reduce the vulnerability of towns and populations to floods and climate change; (ii) substantially improve the urban environment, hygiene, and sanitation in the targeted towns; and (iii) improve urban mobility.

Zounoubaté N'ZOMBIE

z.nzombie@afdb.org

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/request-for-documents. Under the AfDBÕs Disclosure and Access to Information policy, if you feel the Bank has omitted to publish information or your request for information is unreasonably denied, you can file an appeal at https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/appeals-process.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF AfDB

The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), which is administered by the Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU), is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an African Development Bank (AfDB)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the IRM, it may assist you by either seeking to address your problems by facilitating a dispute resolution dialogue between you and those implementing the project and/or investigating whether the AfDB complied with its policies to prevent environmental and social harms. You can submit a complaint electronically by emailing crmuinfo@afdb.org, b.kargougou@afdb.org, b.fall@afdb.org, and/or s.toure@afdb.org. You can learn more about the IRM and how to file a complaint at: https://www.afdb.org/en/independent-review-mechanism/