Red Alert on the State of Water

Towards a Health and Technological Water-Monitoring System in the Gulf of Guinea

Emeric Kochoni¹, Raphael Edou²

¹ Environmental Scientist; Water Quality and Aquatic Ecotoxicology Specialist; Environmental Data Science Practitioner.
² Former Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources (Benin); CEO, Radenamias LLC; CEO, Global Tech for Human Security LLC.

Abstract

Water in sub-Saharan Africa can no longer be reduced to the single issue of access. In a context shaped by rapid urbanization, agricultural intensification, industrial pressure, inadequate waste management and the growing effects of climate change, the sanitary quality of water is becoming a major determinant of public health, food security and environmental resilience. This article analyzes the degradation of water resources in the Gulf of Guinea, with particular emphasis on Benin and Togo, two countries where surface waters, shallow aquifers, lagoons and coastal zones are exposed to microbiological, chemical and metallic contamination. The analysis highlights the role of water as a vector that transfers pollutants from watersheds toward lagoon and coastal environments, together with the associated health, economic and ecological impacts—notably waterborne diseases, avoidable mortality, the degradation of fisheries and productivity losses. Faced with the limits of conventional monitoring systems, which are often fragmented, centralized and slow to respond, the article proposes a transition toward water health surveillance based on Water Safety Plans, rapid field tests, confirmation laboratories, geographic information systems, digital dashboards and community alert mechanisms. Finally, it presents the operational initiative “Red Alert on the State of Water” led by Radenamias LLC as a pilot model designed to transform field data into tools that support public decision-making. The goal is to promote preventive, territorialized and intelligent water governance capable of better protecting the populations, ecosystems and local economies of the Gulf of Guinea.

1. Introduction

Essential to life, public health, agriculture and the economy, water acts as a universal vector: its mobility and dissolving power allow it to carry nutrients as well as the microbiological, chemical and metallic contaminants generated by human activities. Water quality is therefore not a secondary aspect of access: it is the sanitary, economic and environmental condition that underpins it (UN-Water, 2023; UNEP, 2016; Schwarzenbach et al., 2006).

Despite the progress observed in access to basic services, the paradox remains particularly pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa: water can be available without being safe. The latest JMP 2000–2024 data indicate that roughly 2.1 billion people worldwide still lack a safely managed drinking-water service, while regional inequalities remain profound (WHO/UNICEF, 2025). In several West African countries, rapid urbanization, agricultural intensification, inadequate waste management and industrial discharges are overwhelming sanitation infrastructure, promoting the contamination of aquifers and aquatic ecosystems (Damania et al., 2019; UNEP, 2016; Lapworth et al., 2017a).

The Gulf of Guinea, understood here as the coastal and hydrographic area encompassing Benin, Togo, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, illustrates these tensions. High coastal density, dependence on shallow groundwater, receiving lagoon systems and the concentration of port, agricultural and urban activities all heighten sanitary vulnerability there, particularly to faecal contamination, pesticides, hydrocarbons and heavy metals (Affian et al., 2009; UNEP, 2016; Lapworth et al., 2017a).

The challenge therefore goes beyond simply supplying water. It is about guaranteeing the sanitary safety of the resource through a preventive, territorialized and operational approach. This article analyzes the dynamics affecting water resources in Africa and in the Gulf of Guinea, with a focus on Benin and Togo, in order to propose a health-surveillance trajectory grounded in data, rapid tests, risk mapping and environmental intelligence.

2. Continental Diagnosis: Water as a Mirror of Anthropogenic Pressures

2.1 From an Access Crisis to a Quality Crisis

Public policies have long prioritized expanding the number of water points, which remains essential. However, sanitary safety is now the central challenge. A water-supply system can be functional while still delivering water exposed to microbiological or chemical risks—particularly when the structure is poorly protected, located near latrines, affected by flooding or connected to ageing networks. This situation turns the water crisis into a quality crisis that is often less visible but more directly linked to morbidity, avoidable mortality and productivity losses (Damania et al., 2019; Prüss-Ustün et al., 2019).

The recent rise in cholera outbreaks in Africa is a reminder of this fragility: the regional bulletins of the WHO and Africa CDC show a resurgence of cases in several African countries since 2022, against a backdrop of WASH vulnerability, human mobility and extreme climatic events. This dynamic confirms that water-quality monitoring must be integrated into health-alert systems rather than treated as an isolated technical activity (WHO AFRO, 2024; Africa CDC, 2025).

2.2 Main Sources of Contamination

The degradation of the resource results from a set of mutually reinforcing anthropogenic pressures:

Microbiological contamination: linked to precarious sanitation, the proximity of latrines, septic tanks and water points, stormwater runoff and flooding. It remains one of the main drivers of diarrhoeal diseases, cholera, typhoid and other waterborne illnesses (Prüss-Ustün et al., 2014, 2019). In peri-urban and rural areas, this contamination is often aggravated by the use of poorly protected wells, badly maintained boreholes or surface sources exposed to faecal matter. Its seasonal character also matters: intense rainfall episodes can leach soils, submerge latrines and rapidly transport pathogens toward shallow aquifers and points of consumption.
Chemical pollution and heavy metals: mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic and other persistent elements originate mainly from mining, electronic waste, port discharges and certain manufacturing activities. These contaminants accumulate in sediments and can enter the food chain through bioaccumulation (UNEP, 2019; Pure Earth, 2022). Mercury is of particular concern because it can be converted into methylmercury in aquatic environments. This highly neurotoxic form accumulates in fish and mainly affects pregnant women, children and fishing-dependent communities (WHO, 2024; UNEP, 2019). Given these perils to human health and ecosystem preservation, in 2013 the United Nations established the Minamata Convention, a binding normative framework for signatory States. According to Raphael Edou, CEO of Radenamias LLC, this legal instrument must imperatively mobilize the vigilance of African nations confronted with the challenges of gold mining, whether formal or artisanal. The assessment of metal risk must therefore go beyond total concentration alone; it must incorporate speciation, bioavailability and the chemical interactions of the medium. Work on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii shows, for example, that iron can modulate the uptake and toxicity of copper, confirming the value of a fine-grained ecotoxicological approach (Kochoni & Fortin, 2019). Finally, the growing demand for rare minerals, notably for the energy transition, risks increasing releases of heavy metals and chemical contaminants into waters, aquifers and sediments, aggravating water pollution and the exposure of populations (Edou, 2026).
Pesticides and agricultural nutrients: agricultural intensification drives the leaching of nitrates, phosphates, sulphates and pesticide residues into rivers, lagoons and aquifers. In Benin, studies on the Ouémé basin and the cotton-growing areas of the North report the presence of organochlorine and organophosphorus residues in aquatic and biological matrices (Pazou et al., 2006a, 2006b; Olisah et al., 2020). These inputs promote the eutrophication of water bodies, algal proliferation and declining oxygenation, with direct consequences for fish and for the domestic uses of water. They also pose a chronic health risk, since certain persistent pesticides can accumulate in aquatic organisms and expose populations through the consumption of fish or contaminated water.
Solid waste, wastewater and hydrocarbons: inadequate collection, untreated domestic discharges, informal emptying of latrines and port activities all add to the organic, microbiological and chemical load of surface waters, particularly in coastal and lagoon areas (UNEP, 2016; Lapworth et al., 2017b). Plastic waste and organic matter clog drainage channels, worsen urban flooding and facilitate the transfer of contaminants toward shallow aquifers. Untreated wastewater enriches aquatic environments with pathogens, nutrients and micropollutants, compromising domestic uses, fishing and recreational activities. Hydrocarbons, for their part, can form films on the water surface, impair the oxygenation of the medium and durably affect aquatic organisms.

2.3 The Challenge of Operational Monitoring

Despite the identification of pollution sources, monitoring remains the weak link. Existing systems are often fragmented, dependent on centralized laboratories, irregular over time and weakly connected to decision-making systems. Yet a one-off sample taken too late cannot prevent an epidemic outbreak, rapidly identify a contamination point, or prioritize interventions in at-risk neighbourhoods (UNEP, 2021; WHO, 2017, 2023).

The current challenge is therefore no longer merely to observe pollution, but to move from a one-off diagnosis to responsive health surveillance. This requires simple protocols, priority indicators, field kits, confirmation laboratories, geographic information systems and community alert mechanisms. This need is particularly acute in the Gulf of Guinea, a space where demographic tensions, economic pressures and hydrological vulnerabilities converge.

3. The Gulf of Guinea: A Hydrological Area Under Pressure

3.1 A Region Marked by the Concentration of Activities

Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin and Togo share socio-economic features that heighten the vulnerability of their water resources: rapid coastal urbanization, the densification of coastal conurbations, the economic weight of ports, the development of road corridors, agricultural expansion and pressure on often undersized sanitation systems. The cities of Accra, Abidjan, Lomé and Cotonou illustrate this concentration of populations and activities in hydrologically sensitive zones (United Nations DESA, 2022; OECD/SWAC, 2020).

The major watersheds—notably the Volta, the Mono and the Ouémé—drain these human-altered territories and carry domestic, agricultural and industrial discharges toward the coast (Figure 1). Water fully plays its role as a vector there: it connects the practices of the hinterland to coastal ecosystems, and then to communities dependent on fishing, urban agriculture, market gardening and domestic uses.

Figure 1. Main hydrographic basins of the Gulf of Guinea.

The map (Figure 1) illustrates the connectivity between river networks, wetlands, lagoons and coastlines, showing how contaminants can converge toward coastal areas.

3.2 Lagoons as the Final Receptors of Pollution

Strategic interfaces between land and sea, lagoon systems act as accumulation receptacles. Because of their weak hydrodynamic renewal, fine sedimentation and proximity to urbanized areas, these environments concentrate heavy metals, hydrocarbons, nutrients and organic pollutants in the water, the sediments and sometimes the aquatic organisms. Work on the Ébrié Lagoon in Côte d’Ivoire has thus revealed the presence of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the sediments (Affian et al., 2009).

This accumulation generates lasting ecotoxicological risks for biodiversity, as well as health and economic risks for local populations. In coastal economies, the degradation of lagoons affects small-scale fishing, aquaculture, tourism, land value and food security.

3.3 Cumulative Environmental Pressures

The degradation of water quality results from a synergy of pressures within the watersheds:

Agricultural intensification: leaching of fertilizers and pesticides into aquifers and rivers, particularly in cotton-growing and market-gardening areas (Pazou et al., 2006a, 2006b; Olisah et al., 2020).
Urban sanitation deficit: direct discharges of wastewater, informal latrine emptying and contaminated stormwater drainage producing a critical organic and microbiological load (Prüss-Ustün et al., 2014, 2019; Lapworth et al., 2017a).
Industrial, port and mining activities: localized but persistent inputs of metals, hydrocarbons, phosphates and chemical waste, with prolonged effects on sediments and aquatic organisms (UNEP, 2019; Lapworth et al., 2017a).

These cumulative impacts turn rivers and lagoons into spaces that integrate regional pollution. Monitoring can therefore no longer be one-off; it requires an integrated approach linking upstream dynamics to downstream impacts. Benin and Togo clearly illustrate these sanitary-safety challenges within this hydrological complex.

4. Focus on Benin and Togo: Specific Vulnerabilities

4.1 Benin: Dependence on Shallow Waters

In Benin, water vulnerability is linked to a strong dependence on decentralized and poorly protected water points, notably domestic wells, shallow boreholes, backwaters and certain natural springs. The sources compiled in the project indicate that 14.7% of the population still depends directly on untreated natural waters for drinking, which increases exposure to faecal germs and diffuse contaminants.

The available studies on Cotonou, Abomey-Calavi and certain peri-urban areas document the vulnerability of wells to microbiological contamination, especially when latrines, septic tanks and refuse dumps are close to water points. In the South-West, the project’s sources also report sharp disparities in access: in Aplahoué, only 37.4% of residents are reported to have access to safe drinking water.

At the same time, Lake Nokoué, the Cotonou lagoon and the connected systems receive urban flows, solid waste, wastewater, informal latrine emptying and sediment inputs. The project’s technical notes report that roughly 83.5% of solid waste is not managed optimally, creating continuous pressure on receiving environments. To these inputs is added agricultural pollution: in the Ouémé basin and the cotton-growing areas, runoff of nitrates, phosphates, sulphates, pesticides and metals can affect aquifers and watercourses.

4.2 Togo: Urban Pressure and Coastal Vulnerability

In Togo, water pressure combines the rapid expansion of Greater Lomé, the densification of peripheral neighbourhoods, coastal vulnerability and the seasonal effects of flooding. These episodes promote the transfer of faecal matter, wastewater and urban residues toward wells, shallow aquifers and lagoons.

The project’s sources highlight worrying signals: in some watersheds such as Didagou in Dapaong, 100% of the samples analyzed in the rainy season are reported to contain indicator germs of faecal pollution. In the Maritime Region, more than 30% of the population is reported to still depend on unimproved sources, while in Adakpamé, 52.9% of private latrines are reported not to respect the minimum safety distance of 15 metres from drinking-water wells.

Chemical pollution adds to the microbiological risk. The available sources point to discharges linked to phosphates, hydrocarbons and maritime waste off Lomé, as well as the effects of the flooding of the Oti River in the North. Despite public efforts, roughly 43% of the Togolese population is reported to still lack safe supply infrastructure, which justifies reinforced monitoring in the rainy season and in densely populated coastal areas.

4.3 Selected Quantified Indicators on Water Pollution and Its Impacts

The figures below do not claim to constitute an exhaustive statistical base; rather, they serve as operational benchmarks for prioritizing risks and guiding targeted monitoring. They show that water pollution is not limited to an environmental question: it translates into medical consultations, avoidable deaths, economic losses, impacts on fishing and increased pressure on households.

Table 1 below summarizes the priority vulnerabilities to be considered in a health-surveillance system.

Table 1. Priority water vulnerabilities in Benin and Togo (after Damania et al., 2019; WHO, 2017, 2023; WHO/UNICEF, 2025; World Bank/WSP, 2012)*.

Quantified indicator	Country / area	Reported value	Significance for action
Dependence on untreated natural waters	Benin	14.7% of the population	Prioritize source protection and point-of-use disinfection.
Sub-optimal solid-waste management	Benin	83.5%	Reduce inputs of waste, leachate and sludge into lagoons.
Deaths linked to diarrhoeal diseases	Benin	≈ 7,000/year, of which ≈ 4,300 children under 5	Strengthen WASH prevention, microbiological surveillance and community alerts.
Economic cost of poor water quality	Benin	≈ 52 billion FCFA/year	Strong economic argument for financing monitoring and sanitation.
Samples with indicators of faecal pollution in the rainy season	Togo, Didagou-Dapaong	100% of reported samples	Establish seasonal post-rain monitoring and protection of wells/dams.
Latrines not respecting the 15 m distance from wells	Togo, Adakpamé	52.9%	Map latrine–well risks and remediate priority structures.
Population depending on unimproved sources	Togo, Maritime Region	> 30%	Target Greater Lomé, lagoon areas and urban peripheries.
Population without safe supply infrastructure	Togo	≈ 43%	Justify investments combining access, quality and monitoring.

*Source: This table is a synthesis compiled from WHO/UNICEF-JMP data on water and sanitation, the World Bank/WSP report on the economic impacts of poor sanitation in Benin, and local studies and health reports concerning Lake Nokoué, the Ouémé basin, Togo’s Maritime Region, Adakpamé and the Oti basin.

The analysis of the continental diagnosis and of the specific case of the Gulf of Guinea shows that water, as a vector, links human activities to the health of populations and ecosystems. For water to remain a source of life in Benin and Togo, management must evolve from an access logic toward a strategy of active health surveillance. Integrating regular—indeed near-real-time for certain parameters—monitoring data becomes a central lever for transforming this diagnosis into tools that support public decision-making.

5. Towards a Water Health-Surveillance Strategy

5.1 From Curative to Preventive: Water Safety Plans

Faced with growing pollution, water management must go beyond the mere deployment of infrastructure to incorporate durable sanitary safety. The WHO recommends adopting Water Safety Plans (WSP) as a proactive approach to assessing and controlling risks from the watershed to the point of consumption (WHO, 2017, 2023). The aim is to replace crisis reaction with preventive, documented and continuously improved management.

In the Gulf of Guinea context, this approach must be adapted to local realities: the multiplicity of small networks, the use of private wells, the informality of sanitation, the seasonality of rainfall, population mobility, budgetary constraints and the dispersion of institutional responsibilities. An effective WSP must therefore combine simple protocols, priority indicators, rapid information feedback and local intervention capacity.

5.2 The Contribution of Rapid Diagnostic Tools

In resource-limited settings, where conventional laboratory analyses are costly, slow or geographically distant, rapid detection kits are a strategic lever. They make it possible to characterize in the field the indicators of faecal contamination (E. coli, coliforms), basic physico-chemical parameters (pH, conductivity, turbidity), nutrients (nitrates, phosphates) and certain priority chemical contaminants (arsenic, lead, hydrocarbons, depending on the kits available).

Responsiveness: results available within minutes to hours, enabling rapid alert and intervention.
Cost optimization: reduced dependence on central laboratories for the initial triage of at-risk sites.
Complementarity: rapid tests do not replace confirmation analyses; they constitute a first line of defence for prioritizing sampling, triggering investigations and tracking trends.
Local ownership: municipal agents, environmental-health technicians, NGOs and water committees can be trained in simple, standardized and geolocated protocols.

5.3 Toward Governance Grounded in Environmental Intelligence

Integrating these tools into a structured health-surveillance system enables the rapid dissemination of alerts to authorities, water operators and communities. Beyond diagnosis, this approach transforms data into a public-decision tool: it makes it possible to prioritize neighbourhoods, target interventions, document responsibilities, track the effects of corrective measures and strengthen transparency.

For the countries of the Gulf of Guinea, this shift toward agile monitoring is a decisive step in reconciling public health, food security, climate resilience and economic development. It nonetheless requires clear governance: the definition of indicators, the frequency of measurements, institutional roles, financing, data certification, public access to alerts and articulation with national water, sanitation and health plans.

6. Rapid Diagnostic Tools and Operational Monitoring

Faced with the limits of conventional laboratories, rapid test kits and mobile laboratories are a strategic alternative for front-line monitoring in the Gulf of Guinea. The following categories can be integrated progressively:

Microbiology: presence/absence or approximate quantification tests for E. coli and coliforms, including simple devices usable in tropical field conditions, such as the Aquagenx Compartment Bag Test or other faecal-screening solutions validated by WASH programmes.
Physico-chemistry: pH, conductivity, turbidity, residual chlorine, temperature and dissolved oxygen—parameters useful for rapidly interpreting contamination conditions and treatment effectiveness.
Nutrients and agricultural pollution: nitrates and phosphates, in order to track agricultural runoff, eutrophication risks and fertilizer-related inputs.
Heavy metals and specific pollutants: arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, hydrocarbons or pesticides, depending on the at-risk areas. These tests should be used as triage tools, with laboratory confirmation when alert thresholds are exceeded.
Mobile laboratories and digital systems: field cases, portable photometers, mobile applications, QR codes for water points and GIS dashboards to transform results into risk maps.

Integrating these tools into digital systems marks the shift from one-off diagnosis to environmental intelligence. Each measurement becomes a geolocated, time-stamped and interpretable data point, capable of feeding a municipal dashboard, a health-alert system or an investment-prioritization process.

7. Operational Initiative: The Radenamias LLC Monitoring Project

To operationalize this vision, Radenamias LLC proposes the concept of a “Red Alert on the State of Water.” The expression refers to a living monitoring network capable of rapidly circulating critical data on water quality and availability, much as a circulatory system signals the health of an organism. The objective is not only technological: it is about connecting communities, technicians, local authorities, laboratories and decision-makers around reliable and actionable information.

Data circulation: regular collection of water-quality information via rapid tests, smart sensors, mobile forms and geolocation of water points.
Decision support: dynamic mapping of contamination or shortage risks, prioritization of sites to inspect, and triggering of alerts after heavy rains, floods or pollution episodes.
Health resilience: reduction of the delay between the emergence of risk, detection, decision and corrective action, particularly in peri-urban neighbourhoods, lagoon areas, schools, markets and community water points.
Partnership model: collaboration with municipalities, ministries, universities, WASH and mining NGOs, national laboratories, donors and kit suppliers in order to build a financially viable and locally owned system.

A pilot phase could be structured around a few representative municipalities in Benin and Togo, combining an inventory of water points, an initial measurement campaign, the training of local agents, the establishment of a dashboard and a laboratory confirmation protocol. The results would make it possible to identify critical points, document recurrent risks and demonstrate the added value of a monitoring system before scaling up.

8. Conclusion

In West Africa, water is at once a vital resource, a vector of development and a mirror of anthropogenic pressures. Benin and Togo illustrate the urgency of a transition: sanitary safety can no longer rest solely on the extension of infrastructure or on one-off analyses. It requires agile, preventive and territorialized health surveillance capable of linking field signals to public decisions.

The combination of Water Safety Plans, rapid diagnostic kits, confirmation laboratories, GIS tools and community alert mechanisms offers a realistic trajectory for reducing risks. The future of sustainable water management in the Gulf of Guinea lies in this capacity to understand, monitor and govern the resource through data, while placing the health of populations and ecosystems at the heart of decision-making.

9. References

Adande, H. M., Houdagba, P., Rodrigue, C. L., & Expédit, W. V. (2021). Physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics of water for domestic use in Cotonou in the Republic of Benin. International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 4(01), 188-197. https://doi.org/10.30574/ijsra.2021.4.1.0200
Affian, K., Robin, M., Maanan, M., Digbehi, Z., Djagoua, E. V., & Kouamé, F. (2009). Heavy metal and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Ebrié lagoon sediments, Côte d’Ivoire. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 159, 531-541. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0649-z
Africa CDC. (2025). Mid-Year Brief: Multi-country cholera outbreak in Africa, 1 January-31 July 2025. Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Damania, R., Desbureaux, S., Rodella, A.-S., Russ, J., & Zaveri, E. (2019). Quality Unknown: The Invisible Water Crisis. World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-1459-4
Edou, R. (2026). Governing Critical Minerals for Human Security: DRC Cobalt, Global Due Diligence, and African Sovereignty. Radenamias LLC / Global Tech for Human Security LLC.
Hounsinou, S. P., Mama, D., Alassane, A., Yalo, N., Sagbo, E., Boukari, M., & Sohounhloue, D. (2016). Pollution of well water of some areas of the municipality of Abomey-Calavi, Benin. Research Journal of Recent Sciences, 5(2), 12-24.
Kochoni, E., & Fortin, C. (2019). Iron modulation of copper uptake and toxicity in a green alga (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii). Environmental Science & Technology, 53(11), 6539-6545. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b01369
Lapworth, D. J., Nkhuwa, D. C. W., Okotto-Okotto, J., Pedley, S., Stuart, M. E., & Tijani, M. N. (2017b). Urban groundwater quality in sub-Saharan Africa: Current status and implications for water security and public health. Hydrogeology Journal, 25, 1093-1116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-016-1516-6
Lapworth, D. J., Stuart, M. E., Pedley, S., Nkhuwa, D. C. W., & Tijani, M. N. (2017a). A review of urban groundwater use and water quality challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. British Geological Survey Open Report OR/17/056.
OECD/SWAC. (2020). Africa’s Urbanisation Dynamics 2020: Africapolis, Mapping a New Urban Geography. OECD Publishing.
Olisah, C., Okoh, O. O., & Okoh, A. I. (2020). Occurrence of organochlorine pesticide residues in biological and environmental matrices in Africa: A two-decade review. Heliyon, 6(3), e03518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03518
Pazou, E. Y. A., Lalèyè, P., Boko, M., van Gestel, C. A. M., Ahissou, H., Akpona, S., van Hattum, B., Swart, K., & van Straalen, N. M. (2006a). Contamination of fish by organochlorine pesticide residues in the Ouémé River catchment in the Republic of Bénin. Environment International, 32(5), 594-599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2006.01.003
Pazou, E. Y. A., Boko, M., van Gestel, C. A. M., Ahissou, H., Lalèyè, P., Akpona, S., van Hattum, B., Swart, K., & van Straalen, N. M. (2006b). Organochlorine and organophosphorous pesticide residues in the Ouémé River catchment in the Republic of Bénin. Environment International, 32, 616-623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2006.01.007
Prüss-Ustün, A., Bartram, J., Clasen, T., et al. (2014). Burden of disease from inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene in low- and middle-income settings. Tropical Medicine & International Health, 19, 894-905. https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.12329
Prüss-Ustün, A., Wolf, J., Bartram, J., et al. (2019). Burden of disease from inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene for selected adverse health outcomes: An updated analysis. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 222(5), 765-777. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.05.004
Pure Earth. (2022). Toxic metals exposure in artisanal and small-scale gold mining communities. Pure Earth.
Schwarzenbach, R. P., Escher, B. I., Fenner, K., Hofstetter, T. B., Johnson, C. A., von Gunten, U., & Wehrli, B. (2006). The challenge of micropollutants in aquatic systems. Science, 313(5790), 1072-1077. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1127291
UNEP. (2016). A Snapshot of the World’s Water Quality: Towards a Global Assessment. United Nations Environment Programme.
UNEP. (2019). Global Mercury Assessment 2018. United Nations Environment Programme.
UNEP. (2021). Progress on Ambient Water Quality: Tracking SDG 6 Series. United Nations Environment Programme.
United Nations DESA. (2022). World Population Prospects 2022. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
UN-Water. (2023). The United Nations World Water Development Report 2023: Partnerships and Cooperation for Water. UNESCO.
WHO. (2017). Water Safety Plan Manual: Step-by-step risk management for drinking-water suppliers. World Health Organization.
WHO. (2023). Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality: Small Water Supplies. World Health Organization.
WHO AFRO. (2024). Cholera in the WHO African Region: Monthly Regional Cholera Bulletin, November 2024. World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa.
WHO. (2024). Mercury and health. World Health Organization.
WHO/UNICEF. (2025). Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2024: Special focus on inequalities. Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene.
World Bank/Water and Sanitation Program (WSP). (2012). Economic impacts of poor sanitation in Benin. Washington, DC: World Bank.