Because women's contribution to development is still poorly

recognised, if not undervalued, this document attempts to draw

up a full picture of how men and women are taken into account

in development activities in the field of water and sanitation. It

draws extensively on lessons learnt in the context of French

co-operation.

The work begins by reviewing the main changes to have

occurred since the 1970s not only in international meetings, in

research, and in terminology, but also in specific approaches

aimed at involving women in development processes. It goes on

to describe the "traditional" ways in which power is shared

between social groups in African societies (according to criteria

of age, ethnic group, status, religion and gender). The third

part analyses the perceptions, knowledge and practices of

male and more specifically female users, since the latter play a

predominant part in relation to water and sanitation. Next,

using case studies, the way in which the various types of user

are taken into account, at all stages of hydraulics projects, is

explored.

The final part defines what is meant by a demand-driven

approach, and presents the various ways in which this can be

evaluated. In the light of all these observations, the work ends

with recommendations drawn up jointly by the French Ministry

of agriculture and the environment (MAE) and the French

development agency (AFD) with the objective of effectively

involving users as a whole in water and sanitation

management.