HIV/AIDS Challenges in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso: Concerted social mobilization in the face of a persistent pandemic
By Benoît Pelletier
Burkina Faso is the second most HIV/AIDS-affected country in West Africa. Confronted by one of the worst economic situations in the world, it has, according to Fatimata Lankoande, succeeded in mobilizing itself to fight the disease. The intense involvement of every stratum of society, along with the support of technical and financial partners, has resulted in interesting results. For example, the infection’s prevalence rate, as the WHO/UNAIDS notes, has decreased from 7.17% in 1997 to 2.7 % in 2003.
By setting up a Strategic Framework to Fight AIDS, the country has enabled the many and various actions of stakeholders in the field to become both more consistent and effective. Among other things, the serosurveillance system has been strengthened, and there has been an increase in the number of infected individuals who have received medical and economic support. However, much remains to be done.
Additional effort must be devoted, in particular, to improving the situation of AIDS orphans (close to one Burkinan household in two is made up of such children) and pursuing the fight against those at-risk behaviours that still continue to exist.