Health in Burkina Faso

A landlocked sub-Saharan country, Burkina Faso is among the poorest countries in the world—44 percent of its population lives below the international poverty line of US$1.90 per day (UNICEF 2017)—and it ranks 185th out of 188 countries on UNDP's 2016 Human Development Index (UNDP 2016). Rapid population growth, gender inequality, and low levels of educational attainment contribute to food insecurity and poverty in Burkina Faso. The total population is just over 20 million with the estimated population growth rate is 3.1 percent per year and seven out of 10 Burkinabe are younger than 30. Total health care expenditures were an estimated 5% of GDP. Total expenditure on health per capita is 82 (int dollar) in 2014.^[1][2]

Despite increased government funding and an effective expansion of proven health interventions, Burkina Faso still faces major challenges in the health sector. Communicable diseases continue to be the primary cause of morbidity and mortality in the country, with malaria being the largest contributor to mortality for children under 5 years of age. In addition, Burkina Faso did not fully meet Millennium Development Goals in child mortality, maternal mortality and sanitation. USAID is contributing to new advances in health by increasing malaria prevention and control and expanding access to improved water resources, sanitation and family planning.^[3]

A new measure of expected human capital calculated for 195 countries from 1990 to 2016 and defined for each birth cohort as the expected years lived from age 20 to 64 years and adjusted for educational attainment, learning or education quality, and functional health status was published by The Lancet in September 2018. Burkina Faso had the fourth lowest level of expected human capital countries with 3 health, education, and learning-adjusted expected years lived between age 20 and 64 years. This was an improvement over 1990 when its score was 1.^[4]

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative^[5] finds that Burkina Faso is fulfilling 72.6% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income.^[6] When looking at the right to health with respect to children, Burkina Faso achieves 81.6% of what is expected based on its current income.^[6] In regards to the right to health amongst the adult population, the country achieves 85.0% of what is expected based on the nation's level of income.^[6] Burkina Faso falls into the "very bad" category when evaluating the right to reproductive health because the nation is fulfilling only 51.1% of what the nation is expected to achieve based on the resources (income) it has available.^[6]