Context & key figures
The density of healthcare professionals is among the lowest in the world, with only 1 doctor and 5 nurses per 10,000 inhabitants on average. This severely limits the health system’s capacity to provide the population with accessible, adequate, and equitable services, especially given the very high cost of treatments. The fight against non-communicable diseases, particularly diabetes, has become a national priority, affecting more than 30% of the adult population.
Santé Diabète began its field activities in Burkina Faso in 2012.
An analysis of the situation confirmed that the challenges were similar to those identified in Mali in 2003, namely:
- Geographic and financial accessibility barriers to diabetes care
- A lack of medicines, consultation equipment, and diagnostic materials
- A shortage of healthcare professionals trained in diabetes care
- A lack of prevention programs
- A health system not adapted to the management of chronic diseases
Our action
Building on the experience developed in Mali, Santé Diabète established a structured program with a comprehensive approach encompassing all the necessary components to implement quality diabetes prevention and care.
strengthening human resources
access to medicines
strengthening of technical platforms and biological diagnostic tools
developing prevention and therapeutic education programs
Support for the development and structuring of diabetes patient associations at the local, regional, and national levels
Our impact
Our support for the national diabetes strategy in Burkina Faso, between 2020 and 2023, has led to significant results for the Ministry of Health as well as for people living with diabetes across the country’s regions.
Prevention and management of comorbidities Diabetes/HIV and diabetes/TB
As part of a project funded by L’Initiative/Expertise France on diabetes/HIV and diabetes/tuberculosis comorbidities, aimed at better integrating the care of affected individuals:
- Development and revision of prevention tools and training modules for patients and healthcare professionals.
- Implementation of training activities for health workers in collaboration with the Ministries of Health and national trainer teams, targeting: 33 doctors and 36 diabetes referral paramedics; 18 physicians and 18 tuberculosis referral paramedics; and 17 doctors and 18 HIV referral paramedics.
- Implementation of patient prevention actions including the training of 30 peer educators to ensure community-based diabetes prevention in people living with HIV and to prevent HIV/TB in people with diabetes.
- Production of an advocacy note for national stakeholders on issues related to diabetes / TB and diabetes / HIV comorbidities.
Strengthening national dialogue frameworks and access to medicines
Establishment of dialogue framework and collection of a large amount of data on the availability and prices of medicines and health devices at the different levels of the health pyramid ahead of restitution at the second meeting of the dialogue framework.
Prevention
Opening of houses for the prevention of diabetes and its risk factors :
- In 2021, a Diabetes Prevention House was launched in partnership with the association Diabète Laisses Moi Vivre (ADLMV), along with the initiation of prevention and patient support workshops within the center.
- Training of 18 patient peer educators and adaptation of the prevention tools developed in Mali for use by the peer educators.
- Conducted by peer educators within the Diabetes Prevention Centers, in the community, in health facilities, and during prenatal consultations in Ouagadougou and six other regions: 1,200 sessions reaching 13,331 people.
- Celebration of World Diabetes Day (WDD) with authorities. Broadcast of TV trailers, radio microprograms, and a press conference.
- Training of a network of 25 journalists on issues related to diabetes, with awards presented for the best contributions across various media.
- Screening and hypertension days: 135 on the occasion of World Diabetes Day, with a total of 20,000 people screened.
- Actions in schools in Burkina Faso : 3 training courses for 120 education staff in Ouagadougou and the Centre (Ouagadougou), Centre-West (Koudougou), Plateau Central (Ziniaré), Centre-East (Tenkodogo) and Centre-South (Manga) regions. These activities involved 126 events in 42 schools, reaching 3,390 pupils.
- Strengthening of patient associations: Capacity building for 17 members from partner associations in the city of Ouagadougou on prevention activities. Regional training sessions were conducted, reaching 40 people.
- Continuation of the intercultural exchange between Ouagadougou and Grenoble. 68 students participated in this exchange.
In 2013, only 3.8% of health districts in Burkina Faso had healthcare professionals trained in diabetes care. By 2019, thanks to Santé Diabète’s efforts, all (100%) health districts in the country were equipped with trained personnel.
Prevention and screening session in Burkina Faso conducted by a peer educator
Testimony
BINTOU DRAMERA
lives with type 2 diabetes, founder of the association Vivre Avec Son Diabète
Santé Diabète has greatly helped me learn how to live better day-to-day with my condition and to strengthen my knowledge about diabetes. During workshops on nutrition, I learned how to prepare and eat balanced meals that are also local dishes. I was also taught how to engage in physical activity, such as walking, adapted to my lifestyle. Thanks to Santé Diabète’s training on facilitation techniques, I now support members of my community as a peer educator, helping them manage their diabetes and prevent complications.
FOCUS : TRAINING ON HIV,
TUBERCULOSIS &
DIABETES COMORBIDITIES
We have established a continuous medical education program for healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses, on the management of diabetes/tuberculosis and diabetes/HIV comorbidities, as well as a network of peer educators from diabetes and HIV/AIDS patient associations.
Initially, the aim of this initiative was to include the management of patients with comorbidities. Subsequently, it enabled the integration of diabetes risk factor prevention among people living with HIV/AIDS and HIV/AIDS prevention among people with diabetes.
This new program aims to improve the quality of life and health of populations in the targeted countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, and the Union of Comoros) by strengthening the role of civil society (patient associations and health professional associations) within a multi-stakeholder network on diabetes to enhance prevention, care, and support for people living with the disease. It also seeks to promote the use in the Global North of expertise developed in the Global South. Finally, it will contribute to further strengthening the governance and organizational capacity of the NGO Santé Diabète.
The goal of this three-year program is to continue strengthening political and strategic frameworks that integrate diabetes care into the health system, in order to train more specialists and general healthcare professionals, thereby increasing the care available to people living with diabetes. It also aims to maintain geographic and financial accessibility to antidiabetic treatments, particularly insulin. Additionally, by supporting the establishment of a Diabetes Prevention House in each intervention country, Santé Diabète will reinforce prevention, care, and support activities for people with diabetes and those at risk, while guiding civil society toward greater autonomy.
Although this program is being implemented in Burkina Faso, the Union of Comoros, and Mali, specific objectives have been defined for each country based on needs identified in collaboration with the various national implementation partners.
The achievement of these objectives in Burkina Faso will be pursued through:
- The celebration of 3 world diabetes days and the organization of 150 free screening events for diabetes and its risk factors, offered at no cost to participants.
- Awareness raising :
- Reach 21,000 people and and 2,000 people with risk factors through a prevention program using peer educators and media campaigns.
- Reach 3,300 primary and secondary school pupils through a health behavior prevention cycle.
- Train 25 journalists working on health-related topics.
- Strengthening the health system through:
- Improving the availability and reducing the prices of essential diabetes medicines
- Strengthening therapeutic education for people with diabetes through the establishment of a peer educator network.
- Establishment of a “Prevention House” managed by associations to reinforce prevention and therapeutic education activities.
- Strengthening of 8 associations of patients and health professionals
- Consolidation of the role and actions of these associations
- Reinforcing:
- the national response to diabetes
- national standards and procedures for the management of diabetes at the level of the Ministry of Health
- other policy documents including diabetes (nutrition, maternal health, etc.)
- the inclusion of diabetes in the Universal Health Coverage (UHC)
The program is supported by three main partners: Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF), and the Helmsley Charitable Trust. It also receives support from other international partners such as Grenoble City Council and the Life For A Child programme.
This project builds on an initial innovative three-year initiative aimed at integrating the prevention and management of Diabetes/HIV and Diabetes/Tuberculosis (TB) comorbidities in Burkina Faso and Mali. The new project will continue in these two Sub-Saharan African countries targeted by the previous initiative and will be expanded to include the Union of the Comoros in the Indian Ocean.
The project ended in March 2025 in Burkina Faso and the Union of the Comoros. It concluded on December 31, 2023, in Mali.
This new project makes it possible to:
- At the level of public policies and national strategies: the development of detailed standards and procedures based on the established health professionals’ curricula, along with the related technical documents; the inclusion of comorbidities in upcoming country concept notes; and finally, the strengthening of knowledge and capacity of the Country Coordination Mechanisms (CCM) on these issues.
- At the operational level: continuing to build the capacities of health professionals involved in the management of diabetes, TB and HIV with the development of a clinical mentoring component complementary to theoretical training; the extension of community prevention actions carried out by the PEP networks formed in the two countries with stronger mobilization of civil society organizations (CSOs) and of patient organizations; strengthening of therapeutic education strategies adapted to the comorbidities developed during the previous project.
Achieving these objectives in Burkina Faso involves:
- Strengthening of 3 national diabetes programs on the prevention and management of HIV and tuberculosis co-morbidities
- Strengthening the Country Coordinating Mechanis on the prevention and management of co-morbidities
- Strengthening the skills of 13 patient associations and CSOs
- Establishment of a community network of 26 trained community PPEs
- Training on the management of comorbidities of :
- 144 healthcare professionals working in 3rd referral structures
- 80 healthcare professionals working in 2nd referral structures
- 2,250 patients in total with diabetes and TB or diabetes and HIV who will have access to better quality care
- 5,000 people with diabetes will have access to HIV and TB awareness
- 10,000 PLWHIV will have access to awareness raising on the risk factors for diabetes and TB.
This program is funded in Burkina Faso by L'Initiative.
