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Public taps to supply water in insalubrious residential areas in French Guiana Volume 11, issue 4, Juillet-Août 2012

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Authors
Agence régionale de santé Aquitaine 103 bis, rue de Belleville CS 91704 33063 Bordeaux cedex France, Agence régionale de santé Guyane 66, avenue des Flamboyants 97300 Cayenne France, Organisation mondiale de la santé 20, avenue Appia 1211 Geneve 27 Suisse

During a cholera epidemic in 1991 in French Guiana, specific prevention measures were implemented, including the installation of public taps in insalubrious residential areas. Inadequate planning resulted in their deterioration or disappearance. In 2007, impelled by the French High Council for Public Health, action was again taken to “improve the quality of potable water for those who do not have access to it” in French Guiana. As during the cholera epidemic in 1991, public taps were installed under supervision of the authorities, this time working with prepaid cards. This technical solution could not have been implemented without the strong involvement of parties involved in urban policy and social mediation. Among the important issues to come is an assessment of the technical options chosen.