Abstract

The Municipal Development Program launched in Cotonou, Bénin, covers West and Central Africa. The factors determining the course of decentralization in this part of the world stem from the current economic and financial situation of the countries in question, growing public demand for democracy, and pressure from donor agencies. This program will focus on the decentralization process, as it concerns education and healthcare policy in Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire, as well as the options available to improve it. In each case in point, the analysis will bear on: the ability of human and financial resources to carry out the municipal responsibilities brought about by decentralization; the impact of decentralization on the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in meeting educational and healthcare needs; and the changes that have occurred in the role granted to non-institutional local authorities and their ability to organize a response to the growing public demand for education and healthcare services. The project will examine strategies for coordinating municipal action with that of non-governmental players to meet education and healthcare needs. These cooperative, participatory strategies will be aimed at better identifying public requirements and improving the effectiveness and suitability of service delivery. More specifically, the focus will be on developing joint-action strategies involving local development stakeholders or the latter and the public.

Post-Project Summary

Three national reports were prepared by the Groupe de recherche sur les initiatives locales de l'université d'Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), the École nationale supérieure polytechnique de Yaoundé (Cameroon), and the Centre pour la démocratie et les droits de la personne d'Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), and served as the basis for the final report. The final report contains 10 sections. The introduction gives an overview of the geographic and socioeconomic setting, as well as the general process of decentralization in each of the three countries. The first chapter sets out the general problem to be addressed by the research, the mandate given to the researchers, and overall expectations. The second chapter presents the working methodologies selected and gives an overview of how the work proceeded. Chapters 3 and 4 deal with two important players in the decentralization process and the provision of health services: the state and donors. The state is, naturally, the lead player in this field. Donors also play a key role as facilitators and promoters of the process. The next two chapters deal with players in the provision of public services: nongovernmental actors, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and traditional chiefs. The final chapter addresses the use of the research results. It provides recommendations concerning the role of municipalities, the role of nongovernmental players and the role of noninstitutional powers, with a view to better integrating their efforts on behalf of local development.

Recipient Institution(s)