Publication
Although Urban Agriculture (UA) in Africa has a range of benefits for food security, as the literature asserts, these benefits are mixed and sometimes make the legitimacy of planning this activity on urban land controversial. Yet, to achieve the goal of a real positive association of UA with urban health, planning could be an essential lever. The subject of this thesis is part of the transcontinental learning project 'African contributions to global health: Circulation of knowledge and innovations'. It involves a multidisciplinary team of PhD students and postdoctoral researchers from three co-candidates, Swiss TPH, EPFL, and the University of Basel, as well as twenty project partners. Team members specialize in the history and economics of health in Africa, veterinary and human epidemiology, pharmaceutical medicine, environmental engineering, and urban planning. The research question is presented as follows: if the food produced by UA is not healthy enough, could other urban health reasons justify the systematic planning of UA, such as production safety, spatial design, as well as the perception of psychosocial benefits among farmers in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, and Greater Lomé, Togo? The aim is to empirically test this theory by assessing food safety, examining urban planning tools, and measuring the association with women's decision-making power. Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania and Greater Lomé in Togo were chosen as case studies because they share a significant proportion of their urban populations who practice UA, while presenting historical, geographical, demographic, and even cultural differences, which can present a scientific challenge. Data collection was based on expert interviews, content analysis, questionnaire surveys of urban farmers and testing of UA vegetables for nitrate contamination. The results indicate that produce from UA does not necessarily guarantee a healthy diet, underlining UA's limitations in providing complete food security. However, proper urban planning of UA could mitigate its adverse effects on health. Despite these challenges, UA makes a positive contribution to the psychosocial well-being of farmers, in particular by promoting the emancipation of women involved in UA. The structure of the thesis is composed of five parts: the abstract, the general introduction, which is the first chapter; the four following chapters made up of four peer-reviewed articles; a fifth chapter, which synthesizes and opens a perspective on the future, and finally the last chapter, the general conclusion, the appendices, and the candidate's CV. The added value consists in better defining UA's concrete place in urban health, particularly regarding food security and women's empowerment, and the proactive planning criteria that can catalyze its integration to build more sustainable cities. The originality of this research lies in its empirical methods, its holistic approach to UA, the focus on psychosocial well-being as a sufficient pillar fo