In Burkina Faso, New Community Health Posts Improve Access to Integrated Care

By Marguerite Ndour, Project director, INSPiRE ; Jennifer Martin, International Development Writer and Editor Kiendr ébéogo Patindé, head of Lo-Longo health post in Burkina Faso, speaks to a mother at the health post. Photo by Isidore Sinkondo for IntraHealth International.November 17, 2020A mother in Burkina Faso with a sick child walks 6.5 kilometers, on average, to find a health worker. Finding local and available high-quality health services is difficult, especially in rural areas.The World Health Organization estimates that there isless than 1 physician and fewer than 4 nurses per 10,000 people in Burkina Faso. And while its child mortality rates have declined, the country’s rural geography makes it challenging to promote child health, in part because mothers have to travel great distances to reach health services. To improve access in rural communities, the government created a community health strategy in 2019 and urged partners to support its realization. The focus of the community strategy is to encourage more people to seek out care and to improve health outcomes, particularly for women and children.As part of ourINSPiRE project and its activities in Burkina Faso’s Pó District, IntraHealth International collaborated closely with the local Ministry of Health officials, village leaders, and community development groups to use the project’sintegrated health services model at the community level. And in September 2020, we establi...
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Maternal, Newborn, & Child Health Community Engagement Source Type: news