International AFRICA Sustainable Waste Management Conference,

Waste management is a major challenge in almost all communities, given the heterogeneity of the solid waste and it’s exponentially growth. However, in developing countries, the problem becomes even more acute due to cultural and economic reasons, as it is the case of most countries of Africa. The problem is more serious when it comes to mega cities such as Luanda, Angola‘s capital, whose population has grown tremendously in recent decades due to the civil war that spread over the country and Luanda became the city with safety for thousands of Angolans from various parts of the country, fleeing from this war, settling mostly in the suburban belt of the capital.
It is estimated that Luanda has a population between 4.5 and 5 million inhabitants, which represents about 24% of the population of the country. The urban city was designed in colonial times for a population of 750 000 inhabitants, shows nowadays serious sanitation problems, with sewage running down the street in the suburban areas and the solid waste is part of the day to day life of the population. This outlook is shared by the population of many other cities, due to the exponential production of waste and few solutions offered. Most of the waste is deposited in the open dumps, near watercourses and in residential areas, aggravating problems of public health.
Emerges, therefore, a sector which should establish an appropriate technical solution, robust and affordable for the vast majority of the population from cities such as Luanda and others African cities, especially for the people that are living in urban peripheries.
In the recent past the sanitation and solid waste management was not a political priority. But, nowadays the overview of these problems is different and became a political priority for the government, not only in Angola, but in others African countries. Many millions of dollars are announced to implement integrated solid waste programs by Angolan government.
From what has been stated, we believe that an international conference, like this, can show solutions for proper waste management, from the simplest and robust solutions, even those that are more sophisticated, but also to demonstrate the application of each solution to the correct context. In fact, an audience of experts and local politicians, who will participate actively in the conference, will promote interesting exchange of experiences and technical discussion.
We encourage you to participate in the conference.