Women in Burkina Faso have few rights, and few opportunities to earn their own incomes.
Traditional social practices such as forced early marriage and female circumcision lead to high rates of death in childbirth.
ActionAid in Burkina Faso
Our work in Burkina Faso focuses on helping families improve their farming techniques, improving access to health and education, and helping women generate new sources of income.
We have helped establish gardens in schools. One initiative has set up a drying unit to process local fruits and vegetables for sale at market.
We support community-run health and HIV & AIDS awareness campaigns, and are working to improve local health services.
We also support adult education projects to help adults learn literacy and communication skills and how to access local services.
"During the rainy season I grow cereals, peanuts and vegetables. I also do a little market gardening. We dry several types of fruit and vegetables depending on the season. At the moment, we are in the process of drying mangoes...
"The modest income I earn from these extra activities allows me to make ends meet at the beginning of the school year when my children are enrolled and school kits are needed." Célestine Nébié, age 44
Essential Stats
| Burkina Faso | Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 14.37 million (2009) | 21.5 million (2009) |
| Area | 274,200 km2 | 7,703,581 km2 |
| Gross Domestic Product (GDP) | $10 billion (2009) | $970.6 billion (2009) |
| GDP per capita | $700 (2009) | $44,598 (2009) |
| Human Development Index | 0.37 (2006) | 0.965 (2006) |
| Life expectancy (male/female) | 51/54 (2005-2010) | 79/84 (2005-2010) |
| Adult literacy (%) | 23.6 (1995-2005) |
99 (1995-2005) |
Sources: IMF, UN data, Human Development Index, UN statistics
