Family Care International (FCI) began operations in Burkina Faso in 1995, and opened field offices in Ouagadougou and Dori in 1998 and 2009 respectively. Current operations focus on increasing access to skilled care during childbirth and the prevention and treatment of obstetric fistula, key aspect of reducing maternal mortality and morbidity.

Making Motherhood Safer

Complications related to pregnancy and childbirth are among the leading causes of death and disability for women of reproductive age. Furthermore, an estimated 210 million women are left with disabilities, including obstetric fistula- one of the most severe childbirth-related injury due its devastating mix of medical, social and physiological consequences. FCI, in partnership with UNFPA, is working with local organizations in Burkina Faso to prevent fistula in four districts of the Sahel Region. The project will be focused on community mobilization, through:

• strengthening the capacities of local organizations to identify fistula survivors and help their social reintegration;

• training community outreach agents to implement maternal health behavior change campaigns in this region;
• working with community leaders to get their support for skilled care attendance at delivery.

Through the Skilled Care Initiative, FCI and local partners in Burkina Faso are working to improve access to skilled care before, during and after childbirth, known as one of the four strategies to improve maternal health. Through a multi-faceted package of interventions — training providers, addressing equipment gaps, upgrading the health infrastructure, and community mobilization — FCI is working to ensure that high-quality maternity care is available near rural communities, where the majority of women live.

Improving Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health

In Burkina Faso, young people have little access to programs and information that can help them protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS, and unwanted pregnancy. With input from local partners and youth groups FCI produced educational materials for French-speaking Africa — a video, handbook, and flipchart — that provide straightforward information for young people about their bodies, their options, and their futures, and help them develop the self-confidence and skills they need to make healthy choices. These materials have been widely distributed in Burkina Faso, and are being used by a broad range of partners in over 10 countries in the region. FCI has trained youth counselors and program managers in Burkina Faso on how to use these materials effectively.

Practical health information is essential for young people, but they also need reproductive health services. Traditionally, such services have not been welcoming to young, unmarried clients. In Burkina Faso, FCI has worked with the government to increase young people’s access to sexual and reproductive health services. By creating “youth-friendly” services, trainee nurses and other health workers — Burkina’s future health care providers — got hands-on experience serving young people.

For more information contact:

06 Boite Postale 9455
Ouagadougou 06
Burkina Faso
Tel: (226) 50 36 93 58
Fax: (226) 50 36 94 12
e-mail: fciburkina [@] fcimail [.] org

Family Care International:
Francophone Africa Program
588 Broadway, Suite 503
New York, NY 10012
Tel : (212) 941-5300
Fax: (212) 941-5563
e-mail: fcifranco [@] fcimail [.] org