Date: 2017-07-22 08:16:42 ID: 1675

Worth 36 million CFA francs, WAHO’s donation to the Ministry of health Burkina Faso aims at supporting the implementation of its response plan to possible epidemics.

In December 2010, Burkina Faso undertook a preventive mass immunisation campaign against meningococcus A meningitis. Since then, the number of cases of meningitis has considerably reduced from 6,837cases in 2010 to 2735 in 2016.

Besides, the epidemiological landscape of meningitis in the country is more a more characterised by the predominance of Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) W and pneumococcal meningitis. It is also marked by the persistence in the circulation of the other epidemiogenic germs of serogroups X and C. Furthermore, the risk of an outbreak of a meningitis epidemic resulting from these germs, in 2017, is aggravated by the absence of natural protection of the population.

To deal with such a possible occurrence, the Minister of health organised a meeting to sensitise and inform the administrative and technical Heads, who in this case are the Governors of regions, regional Directors of health, representatives of sector ministries, as well as technical and financial partners. The aim is to agree on the strategies for efficient management of a possible meningitis epidemic in the course of the year 2017 in Burkina Faso.

It is within this context that WAHO decided to make its contribution towards the financing of the preparatory and response plan against a possible meningitis epidemic in 2017 by building the detection and confirmation capacities of laboratories through the supply of reagents and consumables.

At the ceremony for the presentation of WAHO’s donation the Director General, accompanied by his Executive Assistant, Dr Idrissa Maiga, and the professional in charge of epidemics control and public health laboratories, Dr Abdourahmane SOW, stated that the donation was being made to support the country’s efforts at controlling epidemics. He explained that this contribution translates the will of the Directorate General of WAHO to support countries in the implementation of policies on prevention and provision of healthcare to the population. Dr Xavier Crespin, who is not undertaking this activity for the first time in support of Burkina Faso, expressed the will of his Institution to support all countries in the community to deal with recurrent epidemics, which have become the daily burden of several countries in West Africa.

Responding, the Chief Director of the Ministry of health, representing the Minister who could not be present, expressed the gratitude of his Ministry to WAHO and recalled the Institution’s various forms of support towards the welfare of the population. The donation presented to the Ministry of health of Burkina Faso will be appropriately distributed among the health facilities of the country and it will be judiciously used, stated the Chief Director of the Ministry of health Dr Robert Lucien Jean-Claude KARGOUGOU.

Moctar TRAORE /PO Communication