Kitikata between climatic challenges and problem of access to medical care

Located in the rural commune of Koba, Kitikata, this small village of farmers and fishermen hit by rising waters risks disappearing from the map if no measures are taken to contain the advance of the sea. With no hospital center or road, the populations of Kitikata are in constant danger in the event of illness or repeated onslaught of water.

For more than a decade, the residents of Kitikata have seen their daily lives disrupted by an unprecedented rise in water levels. What was once a road leading to the beautiful and renowned beach, accompanied by hotel infrastructure, has gradually transformed into a facade swallowed up by water. Today, the only access to this isolated village has become a constant challenge for its inhabitants.

Lives in permanent danger

There is no hospital center or road, the inhabitants of Kitikata live in permanent precariousness, exposed not only to repeated assaults from the sea but also to problems of access to medical care in the event of illness. Each day that passes sees the specter of the disappearance of this village getting closer.

The residents of Kitikata, largely women and children, are particularly vulnerable to disease. The absence of a hospital structure in their locality exposes children to enormous risks. M’Balia Camara, a mother, describes their ordeal with emotion. “If a pregnant woman has to go to the hospital, and it coincides with the rising waters, we take the canoe to Taboria, and it is several kilometers from here. For children, if they get sick during the rising waters, we sometimes have to wait for the water to go again to go to the hospital, because the water can invade the entire village. », explains M’Balia Camara, in despair.

Motorcycles and canoes are the means of transport that local populations use to seek treatment or for any other urgent need. Walking remains the most trying, because moving a motorcycle taxi driver is expensive for people living from traditional agriculture and fishing.

“When someone gets sick here, we are very concerned. You have to move a motorbike for 80,000 GNF during this rainy season”, declared Aboubacar Doumbouya, sector manager of Kitikata.

In the dry season, costs and efforts are reduced, but access remains difficult.

“In the dry season, you have to take the patient, cross the bridge, then negotiate a motorcycle taxi driver, who will send him to the hospital for 5,000 GNF,” explains Aboubacar Doumbouya.

What does the future hold for Kitikata?

 The future of this village, once vibrant with culture and tradition, now depends on courageous and immediate decisions to stem the devastating waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Asking about possible solutions to contain the advance of water, Michael Dieng, doctoral student in environmental sciences, indicates: “We must erect frontal dykes and involve communities in the process of finding solutions.”

For Kitikata, every high tide brings risk and uncertainty, reminding everyone of the fragility of the boundaries between land and sea.

This report is produced as part of the Terra Africa Project led by CFI Media.

Mansa Moussa Mara