Investigating Households’ Urban Resiliency and Perceptions of Health Impacts Associated with Solid Waste Management Practices in Douala, Cameroon

Abstract

Past solid waste management studies have overlooked diverse practices within a municipality that affected residents’ capacity in dealing with health threats. Given the theory of urban resilience, we still have little understanding of how Africa’s urban residents, as agents of urban resilience, perceived and coped with waste management challenges. This study aims to fill these gaps and demonstrate how locally different solid waste management practices within Africa’s sprawling urban municipality can be better understood by approaching from urban resilience theory. We conducted field and questionnaire surveys in several neighborhoods of Douala regarding residents’ health risk awareness, waste management practices, and disposal techniques. Findings reveal that waste management practices differed largely among selected neighborhoods/communities although a substantial portion of the respondents similarly recognized or experienced negative health effects. Two sprawling residential-manufacturing neighborhoods (Logbaba and Kotto) faced irregular waste collection (34% - 43%), while administrative/commercial neighborhood (Bonanjo) had relatively reliable service, with 79% of respondents reporting either daily (17%) or weekly (62%) waste collection. Our Chi-square analysis showed significant links between socio-demographic factors and waste disposal behaviors. Age was significant in New Bell ( χ 2 = 33.75), Bonassama ( χ 2 = 35.60), and Kotto ( χ 2 = 123.56). Gender showed significance in New Bell ( χ 2 = 11.83), Logbaba ( χ 2 = 9.98), and Bonassama ( χ 2 = 7.79). Education was significant in New Bell ( χ 2 = 34.03), Logbaba ( χ 2 = 31.60), and Bonassama ( χ 2 = 22.60). Household size and income also showed statistically significant correlations in New Bell and Logbaba.