General description of the country
Burkina Faso is a State in Western Africa, located at south of Sahara Desert, considered, according to the United Nations Reports in 2007, the second poorest country in the world.
The Mossi Flatland, so called because it is mainly inhabited by the ancient and peculiar Mossi ethnic group, is located in the central and northern area in Burkina Faso.
It is difficult to take a census of villages in this region because they are extremely isolated and have no access to services available for the population of the country.
Social and economical context
In spite of the little economical progresses achieved in the past few years, the population in Burkina Faso still lives in conditions of high poverty. 90% of the active population is involved in agricultural activities and this is the basics in the country economics.
Social indicators reveal the real standards of living of the population:
- literacy rate 41%
- high children mortality ( above 5%)
- very low standard of nutrition ( 230 kcal compared than 2300 required kcal)
In this highly problematic context the condition of women and minors, the two most vulnerable social categories, is even more precarious.
Health conditions of the population
The population in Burkina Faso is evaluated around 12 millions people. Life expectation for an adult is 47 years. The children mortality rate is above 5%. The high mortality rate and the short expectation of life are determined by endemic diseases such as malaria, by pandemics such meningitis and by very common children diseases such as measles or chicken pox.
Moreover AIDS is quickly progressing and so far has hit 2% of the active population.
The access to existing health centres and hospitals is, for rural people, difficult and problematic. Not all villages ( about 8.000 in the country) have such structures available.
Place of intervention
Bilogo is the common village in the Mossi Flatland. The soil is very dry, and coloured in red. The village is located 50 kilometers from the capital, Ouadadogou. In order to reach the village it is possible to use an asphalted road for about 35 kilometers and then there are 15 kilometers of raw road , part of which is in good conditions and part is very damaged, specially during the rainy season.More than 4.000 people are living in Bilogo. More than 50% of the population are women and children.
Analysis of the needs of the community
The Health project comes from the analysis of the needs of the community emphasised by women and children in the village , conducted through the direct monitoring on the territory by operators who have previously implemented micro projects in the village.
Such analysis underlines a slow but gradual improvement of social and economical conditions of people living in the village, thanks to the structures previously realised by an Italian Ngo ( www.ilsole.org). In fact, in year 2002 a bore well, a mill, a cereals storehouse have been built and a micro credit project has been implemented for 50 women in the village in order to start individual or community based working activities.
On the other side, though, the analysis reveals a very serious health problem in the village due to a total lack of medical assistance, specially during pregnancy, delivery and after delivery period.
The absolute lack of an health structure and the distance from the closest health centre ( 15 kilometres) makes it impossible for the population to have access to health assistance.
The Project : goals and plan of action
The Ngo Mehala Onlus will provide the funds to build the structures according to the standards of the Ministry of Health of Burkina Faso, to furnish the structures with the necessary equipments and to provide , when it is necessary, training to the local doctors and nurses.
The goal of the project is the realisation of an health centre and a maternity centre providing assistance not only to the population of Bilogo but also to the populations of five near by villages., for a total of 15.000 people.
Te expected activities within the following 18 months since the beginning of the project are the following:
1) construction, according to the standards of the Ministry of Health of Burkina Faso, of two buildings of about 300 square meters each to be used as health centre and maternity centre.
2) Construction of external latrines ( five for each building)
3) Installation of sun panels for the use of electricity
4) Purchase of furnishings for each building and of the necessary medical equipments for the good functioning of the centres.
5) Purchase of a refrigerator according to the standards of Health World Organisation for the storage of vaccines and special medicines.
6) Construction of a building ( just one room) to be used as pharmacy as by requirements by the Ministry of Health for the better use and protection of medicines by eventual robberies. The pharmacy will be managed by a specifically trained person chosen within the people living in the village.
7) Construction, under request by the Ministry of Health, of two buildings of two rooms each near the health centres for the lodgement of doctors and nurses assigned by the Ministry to the centres, whose salaries will be paid by the Ministry itself.
The operators of the Ngo Mehala, both Italians and burkinabè, will supervise and monitor the good management of the centres for at least three years after the beginning of the activities .
Financial plan
Construction of health centre…………...46.750 euro
Construction of maternity centre……......46.750
Construction of latrines……………….......9.500
Construction of pharmacy…………….…11.800
Construction buildings for lodgements....30.000
Purchase furnishings and equipments…14.000
Purchase refrigerator……………..............4.000
Total cost of the project………………..162.800
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