Burkina Faso launches health financing forum to pursue sovereignty
Prime Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo opened the first National Forum on Health Financing (FONAFIS) in Ouagadougou on Wednesday. Speaking on behalf of Captain Ibrahim Traoré, he posed a pointed question: how to care for Burkinabe citizens without relying on foreign aid? The theme of the forum leaves no doubt: “Building an efficient and equitable health financing system for health sovereignty.”
The assessment is stark. For decades, the health system of Burkina Faso has moved to the rhythm of donor‑funded projects.
Hospitals built here, programs launched there but each time aid dries up, services collapse.
The time for change has come. Sustainable solutions are needed, financed from within.
Around the table, policymakers, experts and partners are all seeking the winning formula. How to mobilize money where it exists?
How to spend it more wisely? How to ensure that ambulances keep running even when international funding becomes scarce? The discussions are technical, but the stakes are simple: save lives without begging.
The 2026–2030 National Development Plan sets ambitious targets: reducing maternal mortality, improving access to care, training personnel.
Behind each goal lies a cost. Behind each cost, a question: who pays? The forum aims to find answers; and above all, to implement them.
Health sovereignty is not a slogan. It is the ability of a country to care for its children, its mothers, its soldiers, without anyone dictating its policy.
Cédric KABORE
