Our concerns
Rapid transmission
Reducing the spread of COVID-19 remains a priority. Concerns remain high in the northern, north-central and eastern parts of the country, where large numbers of displaced people are located.
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OUR COVID-19 RESPONSE IN BURKINA FASO
Our responses
Supporting health authorities
In Bobo-Dioulasso, the country’s second-biggest city, we started a six-week, one-off support to local health authorities in one of the city’s community treatment centres. The team ended their work at the end of February, but the oxygen machine remains in place for the patients in need.
Community education
In the areas of concern, we have adapted triage and infection prevention and control measures in the health facilities we support. We have set up isolation units and trained staff in prevention and treatment. Within our projects, our teams are still providing awareness sessions to the communities.
Having first worked in Burkina Faso in 1995, MSF closed its projects in 2015. We returned in October 2017 to support the Ministry of Health during a dengue epidemic.
Prior to MSF’s departure from Burkina Faso, staff established an emergency program to meet the healthcare needs of Malians fleeing violence and attacks in their home country in February 2012. The team provided basic healthcare consultations, vaccinations (primarily for tetanus and measles) and referrals to the hospital in Dori.
MSF returned to Burkina Faso after an absence of just over two years to support the Ministry of Health during a dengue epidemic.
Dengue is a viral disease spread by mosquitoes that causes fever, and acute joint and muscle pain. The most vulnerable are pregnant women and children under the age of five. No specific treatment exists, but early diagnosis and appropriate care can reduce suffering and prevent death.
MSF teams support health centres, and the infectious diseases department at Ouagadougou’s university hospital, providing access to rapid tests, referrals for severe cases, medication to control fever, and medical care for those suffering from the disease.
MSF also worked with Burkinabe medical personnel to improve detection of the virus and treat symptoms, for example by administering intravenous fluids and blood transfusions.