Summer updates from our programmes in Burkina Faso
Boulkon Epicentre welcomed the Head of the Health and Nutrition Department of UNICEF and a specialist in community health.
Over the course of their visit they met with animators and health programme leaders. Some of the programmes they were introduced to included: the nutrition education programme, the child weighing and monitoring programme and the testing of malnourished children programme. The head of Boulkon’s epicentre health centre was also present and bore witness to The Hunger Project-Burkina’s contributions to improving health and nutrition in the area.
UNICEF delegates expressed their appreciation for the work being done by The Hunger Project. The head of the delegation made the following remark about their visit:
“The Hunger Project’s actions follow a coherent logic regarding the fight against malnutrition. The nursery school, where children are educated from a young age; the food bank; the promotion of income-generating activities through the rural bank; and the nutrition education all work together to end child malnutrition.”
The delegates assured The Hunger Project-Burkina that they are eager to collaborate on community-oriented projects that continue to advance health and nutrition.
MoU with the Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security
The Hunger Project-Burkina signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security. The agreement aims to accelerate progress towards accomplishing the goals under the Accelerated Growth and Sustainable Development Strategy by the Burkinabé government. It agrees to establish a partnership and collaboration, such that The Hunger Project-Burkina benefits from the technical capacities of the Ministry and its oversight in agricultural activities.
Boulkon Epicentre is currently in Phase 3, during which the epicentre community shores up the progress that it has made since its inception, while beginning to plan for a transition to self-reliance. Trainings are led by community-based animators, and epicentre committees manage each programme, including budget oversight and leadership transitions. The epicentre strengthens its partnerships, including solidifying and creating an even more powerful partnership with local government. Boulkon epicentre serves 15 villages with a total population of 25,979 women, men and children in the Kirsi commune of Burkina Faso.