HEALTH AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF FLOODS IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF MALANVILLE, BENIN

Flooding in Malanville is a structural obstacle to development that weakens the health and economic foundations of the municipality. Because of its position on the Niger River, the municipality is exposed to recurrent floods. This study analyses their health and economic impacts. The approach combined a literature review, a socio-economic survey of 383 people, data processing and analysis with SPSS 17.0 and ArcGIS 10.8. Intense rainfall (98%), climate change (33%), inadequate sanitation infrastructure (19%) and uncontrolled land occupation (14%) were cited as causes of pluvial flooding. Sixteen per cent of the territory has a high drainage density, 55% a medium and 29% a low one. The rainfall aggressiveness index ranges from 1,550.91 to 7,304.33. The main health impacts reported are a resurgence of waterborne diseases (57% of respondents), proliferation of disease vectors (23%), limited access to care (12%) and degraded sanitation (8%). Malaria cases rise from 1,289 in January to a peak of 3,289 in September and fall to 1,254 in December; diarrhoea cases rise from 109 in January to a peak of 343 in September and reach 128 in December. Both increase steadily from June, in line with the Niger flood. Agriculture is the most affected economic sector (86% of respondents). The districts of Garou and Mandécali are the most regularly and directly hit by floods.