Signature of the BFELTP project in Burkina Faso

The launch ceremony took place on Tuesday, June 6, in Ouagadougou in the presence of the French Embassy and project implementation partners.

The course, offered over two years, is intended for professionals already working within ministries of health and/or public health organizations in nine countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo). The program combines theoretical courses (face-to-face at Joseph Ki-Zerbo University) and practical application in the participants’ countries of origin—supervised by ‘mentors’. In addition to covering the costs of the training itself and scholarships, this new funding will make it possible to develop a community of practices and a reference manual adapted to the regional context.

This training also emphasizes the theme of One Health, a major priority in global health, including in the French global health strategy. It is a project that also responds to the feminist diplomacy supported by France—since the project has made a commitment to integrate at least 40% women among those trained.

Ultimately, the program will strengthen the skills of more than 60 public health professionals working directly within the countries’ surveillance systems and will thus help improve the health security of the 165 million people in the nine countries concerned.