Study site
According to its activities, the city of Kara represents the second
major city in Togo. It is located in the region of Kara (in northern
Togo), in the catchment area of the river Kara. It extends about
8 km along this river. The climate is tropical with a long rainy season
from May to September and a dry season during the Harmattan
winds that blow across the north of the country from December to
March. In 2009, the average precipitation was 1400 mm, according
to the local meteorological station. During a given year, the temperature
variations range from 18 to 38 C. The population was recently
estimated at 130,000 inhabitants, according to data from the
general population and housing Census of 1992. The urban population
is not equally distributed. The rural exodus promotes the rapid
development of new districts on the outskirts of the city, which
have a poor access to an almost nonexistent sanitation network.
The lifestyle in these districts is semi-urban and semi-rural and
waste management is very similar to that of rural areas.