Burkina Faso

Health Goals

The Challenges

Reduce child mortality

	1990	2000	2005
Mortality rate of infant in first 28 days (per 1,000 live births)	113	100	96
Mortality rate under 5 (per 1,000 live births)	210	196	191
Immunization for measles (by 2 years old)	79	59	84

Figures from Worldbank development indicators database April 2007/UNICEF State of the World’s Children 2007

Improve maternal health

	1990	2000	2005
Births attended by skilled health staff	N/A	31	38
Maternal mortality (estimated per 100,000 live births)		1,000

Figures from Worldbank development indicators database April2007/UNICEF State of the World’s Children 2007

Combat HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases

	1990	2000	2005
Prevalence of HIV (15-49 years old)			2.0
TB (per 100,000 people)	158	182	223
Malaria

Infant mortality remains a serious problem in Burkina Faso. Like Mali, the reduction in child deaths since 1990 has been slow. It is still the case that almost 1 in 10 new-borns die. Of the children that die before their fifth birthday, 1 in 5 of these are newborn babies. In the UK, the number of deaths of children under five is 6 per 1,000 live births.

In Burkina Faso, women on average tend to have six children. Because a women has a 1 in 100 chance of dying each time she gives birth, the risk of death in child-birth can become as high as 1 in 12. Trained medical personnel attend only 40% of births in Burkina Faso.

HIV/AIDS continues to spread, especially among young people. It is estimated that 120,000 children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Tuberculosis is also an increasing threat as the disease is making a comeback in Burkina Faso.

Pregnant women and their unborn children are particularly vulnerable to Malaria, which is a major cause of low birth weight in newborns, anaemia leading to infant death. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, more than 2,000 children a day die from malaria. Children who survive do not escape unharmed. Episodes of fever and anaemia take their toll on those children’s mental and physical development. Malaria can have a debilitating effect on adults as well, often removing them from the workforce for days or even weeks at a time.

All these diseases can be largely controlled through education, prevention and, when illness strikes, treatment and care. But millions of young people know too little about HIV to protect themselves. Surveys in sub-Saharan Africa have found that only 21 per cent of young women and 30 per cent of young men know the basics about how to avoid infection.

Improving the lives…. (pdf)

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