Celebrating USAID’s Billionth Global NTD Treatment in Burkina Faso

July 17th, 2014

Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister, First Lady and US Ambassador to Burkina Faso Attend July 4th Event

Distinguished guests including Burkina Faso’s prime minister, first lady, and minister of agriculture attended a special July 4th event at the US Embassy in Ouagadougou, celebrating the range and depth of US support for their country. After listening to a speech by US Ambassador Mushingi, guests visited booths showcasing the US government agencies that have a presence in the country, among them US Agency for International Development (USAID).

BFBestBuyPosterAs a representative of one of the projects that is helping USAID achieve its Sahel resilience agenda in Burkina Faso and Niger, the agency invited END in Africa partner Helen Keller International (HKI) to participate in its booth at this special event. HKI provided visitors to the booth, including Prime Minister Tiao, take-home copies of USAID’s “1 billion and counting” flyer and END in Africa’s Burkina Faso Country Profile.

USAID’s One Billion and Counting campaign celebrates the agency’s support for the delivery of 1 billion Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) treatments, which have helped more than 465 million people in some of the world’s poorest communities across 25 countries.

Delivering more than 145 million NTD treatments since 2006 in Burkina Faso, alone, has meant relying on many health workers and volunteers across the country, as well as conducting extensive information and education campaigns to inform community residents about the benefits of taking the medicines.

Also on display at the USAID booth were several posters on the NTD project, developed by HKI for the occasion, as well as END in Africa project materials such as disease information and education campaign pieces, mass drug administration campaign posters, and a banner on onchocerciasis.

With the delivery of over one billion treatments through projects such as FHI360’s END in Africa, among others, USAID’s NTD program is reaching vulnerable communities in Burkina Faso and around the world that are suffering from needless disability, childhood malnutrition, reduced school enrollment and hindered economic productivity.

For a first-hand look at how community health workers support the END in Africa project and protect the health of local children and community residents in Burkina Faso, watch our videos of: