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 difficulties were similar to those analyzed in 2003 in Mali, and included :
- Geographic and financial accessibility barriers to diabetes care
- A lack of medicines, consultation, follow-up and diagnostic devices
- A lack of health professionals trained in the management of diabetes
- A lack of prevention programs
- A health system not adapted to the management of chronic diseases
Our action
Based on the experience developed in Mali, Santé Diabète has set up a structuring program with a global approach including all the axes necessary for the implementation of prevention and quality diabetes care.
strengthening human resources
access to medicines
strengthening of technical platforms and biological diagnostic tools
development of prevention and therapeutic education programs
support to the structuring of associations of people with diabetes locally, regionally and at the national level.
Our impact
Notre appui à la politique nationale de lutte contre le diabète au Burkina Faso, entre 2020 et 2023, a permis d’obtenir des résultats importants pour le Ministère de la Santé ainsi que pour les personnes atteintes de diabète des différentes régions du pays.
Prevention and management of comorbidities Diabetes/HIV and diabetes/TB
Dans le cadre d’un projet financé par L’Initiative/Expertise France sur les comorbidités diabète/VIH et diabète/tuberculose dans le but de mieux intégrer la prise en charge des personnes :
- Development and revision of prevention tools and training modules for patients and healthcare professionals.
- Implementation of training actions for health workers in conjunction with the ministries of health and teams of national trainers of: 33 doctors and 36 diabetes referral paramedics; 18 physicians and 18 paramedical referents Tuberculosis; 17 doctors and 18 HIV referent paramedics.
- Implementation of patient prevention actions with the training of 30 peer educators to ensure community prevention of diabetes in people with HIV and 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 a 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 before a restitution at the second meeting of the dialogue framework.
Prevention
Opening of houses for prevention of diabetes and risk factors :
- Launch in 2021 of a diabetes prevention houses, jointly with the association Diabète laisse moi vivre (ADLMV), and launch of prevention and support workshops for people in the house.
- Training 18 patient peer educators and adapting the prevention tools developed in Mali for use by the PPE.
- Carried out by PE, within the walls of prevention houses, in the community, in health facilities and in antenatal consultations, in Ouagadougou and 6 other regions: 1,200 events reaching 13,331 people.
- Celebration of World Diabetes Day (WDD) with the authorities. Broadcast of TV trailers, radio micro-programmes and a press conference.
- Training of a network of 25 journalists on diabetes-related issues, with prizes awarded for the best contributions in the various media.
- Screening and hypertension days 135 on the occasion of WDD and 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.
- Renforcement des associations de patients : renforcement de 17 personnes issues des associations partenaires de la ville de Ouagadougou sur les actions de prévention. Réalisation de sessions de formations régionales qui ont touché : 40 personnes.
- Continuation of the intercultural exchange between Ouagadougou and Grenoble. 68 pupils took part in this exchange.
In 2013, only 3.8% of health districts in Burkina Faso had health professionals trained in diabetes management. In 2019, thanks to the action of Santé Diabète, all (100%) of the health districts in Burkina Faso have diabetes management trained health professionals.
A prevention & screening session in Burkina Faso
Testimony
BINTOU DRAMERA
vit avec un diabète de type 2, fondatrice de l’association Vivre Avec Son Diabète
"Santé Diabète has helped me a lot to learn how to daily live better with my disease and to strengthen my knowledge of diabetes. During workshops on diet, I learned how to prepare and eat balanced dishes, including local dishes. I was also explained how to practice a physical activity - such as walking - adapted to my rhythm of life. Thanks to the training of Santé Diabète on the techniques of animations, I now accompany as a pair educator people in my community to help them live with their diabetes and avoid complications."
FOCUS : TRAINING ON HIV,
TUBERCULOSIS &
DIABETES COMORBIDITIES
We have set up a series of continuing medical education courses for healthcare professionals, doctors and nurses, on the management of diabetes/tuberculosis and diabetes/HIV co-morbidities, as well as a network of peer educators from associations of people living with diabetes and HIV/AIDS.
Initially, the aim of this action was to include the management of patients with co-morbidities. Secondly, it integrated the prevention of risk factors for diabetes in people with HIV/AIDS and the prevention of HIV/AIDS in people with diabetes.
2023 - 2026 Program
2023 - 2026
The aim of this new program will be to improve the quality of life and health of people in the target countries (Burkina Faso, Mali and the Union of the Comoros) by consolidating the place and role of civil society (patients' associations and associations of healthcare professionals) in a multi-player diabetes network to improve prevention, care and support for people suffering from this disease. It will also aim to strengthen the use in the North of expertise developed in the South. Finally, it will enable the governance and organisation of the Santé Diabète NGO to be further strengthened.
The challenge of this three-year program is to continue to strengthen the political and strategic frameworks, including the fight against diabetes and the healthcare system, in order to train even more specialists and general practitioners so as to be able to increase the care provided to patients suffering from diabetes, as well as to continue to make anti-diabetic treatments, particularly insulin, geographically and financially accessible. In addition, by helping to set up a diabetes prevention centre in each country where it operates, Santé Diabète will be able to step up prevention, care and support for people with diabetes and those with risk factors linked to the disease, while guiding civil society towards empowerment.
Although this program is being implemented in Burkina Faso, the Union of the Comoros and Mali, specific objectives have been defined for each country based on the needs identified with the various national implementing partners.
ACHIEVING THESE OBJECTIVES IN BURKINA FASO WILL BE THROUGH :
- The celebration of 3 world diabetes days and the organization of 150 free screening days and its risk factors (free of charge for people).
- Awareness raising :
- of 21,000 people and and 2,000 people with risk factors through a prevention program using peer educators and the media.
- 3,300 primary and secondary school pupils through a prevention cycle on good health behavior
- training of 25 journalists working on health
- Strengthening the health system through the training of :
- Improving the availability and lower the prices of essential medicines used for diabetes
- Strengthening therapeutic education for patients with diabetes through the establishment of a network of peer educators
- Establishment of a « prevention house » held by associations to strengthen prevention actions and therapeutic education
- Strengthening of 8 associations of patients and health professionals
- Consolidation of the role and actions of these associations
- The reinforcement :
- of the national response to diabetes
- of national standards and procedures for the management of diabetes at the level of the Ministry of Health
- of other policy documents including diabetes (nutrition, maternal health, etc.)
- of the inclusion of diabetes in the Universal Health Coverage (UHC)
The programme is supported by three main partners: Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) and the Helmsley Charitable Trust. It is also supported by other international partners such as Grenoble City Council and the Life For A Child programme.
2ND PHASE OF THE PROJECT ON PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF DIABETES/HIV/TB COMORBIDITIES
This project is the continuity of a first innovative three-year project aiming at integrating the prevention and management of diabetes/HIV and diabetes/TB comorbidities in Burkina Faso and Mali. This new project will take place in the two Saharan African countries already targeted by the previous project and will be extended to the Union of the Comoros in the Indian Ocean.
The project will end on 31 December 2024 in Burkina Faso and the Union of the Comoros. It ended on 31 December 2023 in Mali.
This new project will allow :
- At public policies and national strategies levels : the definition of in-depth standards and procedures based on the curricula of defined health professionals and the definition of the related technical documents; taking into account co-morbidities in the next country concept notes and finally strengthening the knowledge and capacities of CCMs on these themes.
- 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 WILL BE THROUGH :
- 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.
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