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A humanitarian action project was preceded by a health diagnosis of a population in Bonou, a rural district in Benin. A perception diagnosis was conducted via interviews among the population and local health professionals. This diagnosis was completed by an objectified diagnosis originating in the analysis of 460 consultations performed in Benin from late 1998 to early 1999. The cross-sorting between the perception diagnosis and the objectified diagnosis highlighted four public health issues: malaria, bronchial asthma, infectious diarrhea, and Buruli ulcer, with respective prevalences of 9%, 6%, 3%, and 0.9%. The prevalence of bronchial asthma fluctuates between 4% in dry areas and 8% in wet areas (chi2= 3.50; p = 0.06). The role of house dust mites is suspected based on ecological arguments to which is added clinical reasoning. Bronchial asthma was chosen as a priority health problem because of the feasibility and acceptance of a survey that aims at pointing out the allergic etiology. The confirmation of this etiology may enable a decrease in allergenic pressure, a solution particularly well adapted to countries of the South. A humanitarian action is therefore expected in order to apprehend the etiologies of bronchial asthma in the Bonou rural district of Benin in 2000.