A seminar on sanitation in urban areas took place in Mandalay from 5 to 7 December last. Following on from the success of the two previous editions, dedicated to water (in 2016) and solid waste management (in 2017), this edition brought together representatives from more than twenty of the country’s major cities, including all the regional and State capitals, as well as French, Thai and Myanmar experts.
The first day, which was open to the public, enabled discussions on the major issues of sanitation management in cities in developing countries. The two following days were devoted to identification of common problems encountered in Myanmar cities and to the search for solutions to improve the situation.
Through group discussions, site visits and initiation in methodology for sanitation service diagnoses, exchanges made it possible to highlight the major problems facing sanitation service operators in Myanmar. Among these, lack of training for operators, limited technical and financial resources of service managers, absence of a regulatory framework and lack of inclusion of service management systems were specifically highlighted.
The French Embassy in Myanmar, Agence française de développement (AFD), GRET and the technical and financial partners of the Rosamur project are attempting to respond to these numerous requirements, by testing solutions aimed at sustainably improving the quality of environmental services in all Myanmar cities.
