Family planning has been free of charge in Burkina Faso since June1, 2019. Extended to include maternal and child health care, this decision taken in December 2018 by the President of Burkina Faso should notably help to reduce maternal mortality.
In Burkina Faso, 58% of the population is under the age of 18. For many years, this very young proportion of the population has prompted the implementation of policies, plans, and programs designed to tackle the issue of reproductive health head-on. One of the most recent initiatives is the experimental project on task delegation in family planning. This experimental phase was implemented by a consortium of three non-governmental organizations, including Equipop, under the leadership of the Ministry of Health.
Task shifting allows additional categories of health workers to provide family planning services following skills-based training. This provision increases the number of qualified personnel able to offer more women, especially in hard-to-reach areas, the contraceptive services they want.
Despite these efforts, health indicators remain far from satisfactory. The maternal mortality rate remains high (330 deaths per 100,000 live births), while contraceptive prevalence has stagnated at 22.5% and unmet need stands at 19%.
The free family planning services instituted by decree by the President of Burkina Faso should help improve these poor health indicators. In conjunction with task delegation and other initiatives currently underway, it will enable all women and girls to have access to family planning services (particularly contraception and medical consultations). This is an opportunity for Burkina Faso to put an end to recurring maternal and infant mortality. To implement this initiative, the country will benefit from the support of several technical and financial partners, as well as the unwavering support of highly mobilized civil society actors. The Ministry of Health has already received support from civil society organizations in developing the roadmap, which will be gradually implemented throughout the country by 2023.
The basket of free healthcare services
Free family planning care and services are available in all public health facilities, at the community level, and in private facilities that have an agreement with the Department of Health to implement this policy. This includes promotional and preventive care, both diagnostic and curative, on an outpatient basis and during hospitalization/observation. This therefore covers:
- childbirth and obstetric procedures,
- care during pregnancy,
- care for children under 5 years of age,
- screening for precancerous lesions of the cervix,
- family planning care and services
For each beneficiary target group, eligible benefits cover five goods and services:
- all actions performed by healthcare professionals (consultations, procedures, etc.)
- essential generic drugs as a priority, specialty drugs that are not available in generic form,
- additional tests required for treatment: laboratory tests (hematology, biochemistry, parasitology, medical consumables, and imaging, bacteriology, immunology, etc.), imaging tests (ultrasound, standard X-ray, CT scan, etc.)
- observation and hospitalization
- fuel for medical evacuations within the country.
Equipop, as an organization committed to promoting and improving the living conditions of women and girls, welcomes this decision by the Burkinabe government. Together with our partners in Burkina Faso, we will work to gradually remove the obstacles to women's full enjoyment of all their rights.
