World Bank Allocates $167 Mln for Burkina Faso

The World Bank has announced a $167 million financing package for Burkina Faso, aimed at strengthening the country’s healthcare system.

This financial aid is part of the “Health System Performance and Resilience Enhancement Project,” which includes a $150 million loan and a $17 million grant.

The goal is to improve disease surveillance, enhance the quality of healthcare services, and increase accessibility to health services and nutrition, particularly in the country’s most vulnerable regions.

The project will focus on key groups such as adolescents, women, children under the age of five, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and residents of remote areas who face significant barriers to accessing healthcare.

The World Bank, along with Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, plans to launch the initiative in early 2025 after completing final negotiations in the coming weeks.

This project is crucial as the healthcare sector in Burkina Faso has been severely impacted by terrorist attacks. In December 2023, 413 health institutions—representing 20% of the country’s healthcare facilities—were damaged, affecting access to care for about 3.8 million people.

Additionally, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Burkina Faso has surged, rising from fewer than 50,000 in January 2019 to over 2 million by March 2023, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).