Health in Burkina Faso

The Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene (MSHP) manages the public system through 13 regional health directorates and the health districts. A health district plans programs and coordinates local facilities. In 2024, there were 2,266 public CSPS, 46 functioning facilities of the type medical center with surgical unit (CMA), and 1,189 private health facilities. The average theoretical access radius to public services, excluding private facilities, was 6.1 kilometers; actual accessibility nevertheless depends greatly on the particular district. Community health facilities, Community Health Points, community health posts (PSC), and community-based health workers (ASBC), as well as national ASBC volunteers, conduct home visits, vaccinations, searches for unvaccinated children, vitamin A supplementation, nutrition screenings, and rapid tests. They treat simple cases of malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia and refer severe malaria. Mobile clinics, outreach health posts, and similar services support hard-to-reach and displaced populations. The CSPS is usually the first regular point of care. It provides consultations, basic outpatient services, malaria rapid tests, integrated treatment of common childhood illnesses, selected care for noncommunicable diseases, and basic services for pregnancy, childbirth, sexual and reproductive health. These include antenatal care, family planning, early detection of cervical cancer, HIV services, and nutritional care. Obstetric ultrasound examinations are being expanded but are not available everywhere. In emergencies, when surgery is needed, or when equipment is lacking, the CSPS refers patients to a medical center or CMA or to a district hospital. Regional hospitals (CHR or CHRU) provide regional referral care; university hospitals (CHU) and specialized centers form the highest national level of care. Formal referral proceeds from the basic level to the higher level and returns through counter-referral. If a required service is missing from the public system, an external facility may also be involved. Laboratory diagnostics, blood transfusions, oxygen, obstetric and neonatal emergencies, severe acute malnutrition, trauma care, and epidemic control are concentrated more heavily at higher-level facilities. Prevention includes routine vaccinations through fixed, outreach, mobile, and campaign services. Official vaccination schedules are updated through national programs and international reporting frameworks. For malaria, interventions include insecticide-treated nets, seasonal chemoprevention for children aged 3 to 59 months, preventive treatment during pregnancy, and the R21 and RTS,S vaccines with four doses starting at five months of age. Malaria vaccination had expanded to 70 health districts by 2025; in 2024/25, seasonal chemoprevention reached more than five million children. A typhoid campaign targeted children aged 9 months to 14 years in 2025. After treatment, counter-referral and follow-up through the CSPS, health district, or specialists support continued care. This includes postpartum follow-up, newborn checks, completion of vaccinations, nutritional monitoring, continuation of tuberculosis and HIV treatment, medication use and monitoring for noncommunicable diseases, and psychological and social support. Rehabilitation is available depending on location. Follow-up coverage was 36.7 percent in the WHO 2024/25 report. Medicine shortages, staff shortages, insecurity, closed or only partially functioning facilities, and inconsistent information systems can interrupt continuity. Referrals, medical records, and vaccination records should therefore be kept and taken to the next appointment. All residents may use public, private, or traditional services. Free care is provided nationwide to women and children under five and covers defined services related to pregnancy, childbirth, obstetric procedures, and associated emergencies. Family planning has been free under the national strategy since 2022. Other groups or services may require payment; long-term treatment of chronic diseases during pregnancy is not covered by the official FAQ's free-care provisions. Distance, transport, waiting times, security, staff, medicines, and actual operating capacity determine whether a service is practically accessible. Traditional medicine has been legally recognized in Burkina Faso since 1994 and is supervised by the Directorate of Traditional and Alternative Medicine. Licensed traditional practitioners (tradipraticiens) may work alongside formal care, but the traditional system is not classified within the same care pathway and is not uniformly codified. Quality, evidence of effectiveness, and safety vary; severe malaria, obstetric or neonatal emergencies, severe malnutrition, injuries, and other acute deterioration require the nearest functioning health facility or health district. Malaria remains the most common health risk; other conditions include measles, meningitis, dengue, respiratory infections, HIV, tuberculosis, and malnutrition. The security situation may close facilities or reduce services to a minimum.