Health in Burkina Faso
Health is an important basic condition for addressing other topics such as education and economic development. In rural villages in Burkina Faso, clean drinking water is often not available and there is no access to medical care. People also often have no knowledge of preventive care or lack the means to do so, such as hygiene or protection against malaria mosquitoes.
ASAP Foundation already achieved a lot in the past 25 years. From building medical centers so that villagers don’t have to walk as far for medical care, to the hygiene project (washable sanitary towels) that gives women and girls more security, to constructing wells for clean drinking water. All basic care that, in contrast to the Netherlands, is not simply self-evident in a country like Burkina Faso.
Clean water
Water is of vital importance. The poor quality of the water in Burkina Faso often causes health problems. It often happens that women and girls have to walk for hours to get water. As a result, the children regularly do not go to school.
Malaria
Malaria is a serious disease, contamination can lead to death and mosquito nets are therefore of vital importance. Malaria is still one of the leading causes of death in Africa for children under the age of 5. ASAP Foundation provides women in the villages with deet-impregnated mosquito nets, so that a family can sleep protected.
Sanitation
Most rural villages in Burkina Faso lack proper sanitation. As a result, villagers often relieve themselves close to home, causing a lot of pollution. Due to the lack of sanitary facilities, women and girls have no privacy during their toilet visit. They therefore often wait until nighttime, which is very dangerous for them.