Day: August 28, 2023

The President of the Transition, Head of State, Captain Ibrahim TRAORE, discussed this morning with a delegation from the Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions of Burkina (APBEF-B), led by its first official, Diakarya OUATTARA .

This exchange and consultation meeting, desired by the Head of State, aimed to invite banks and financial institutions to fully play their role in financing small and medium-sized enterprises run by young people and women. “They need financing but the problem of collateral arises. I hope that we can think together to find a formula, in particular the establishment of a guarantee fund at government level to allow sound financing of these projects,” said Captain Ibrahim TRAORE.

The APBEF-BF, which welcomed this approach by Captain Ibrahim TRAORE, expressed its gratitude for the interest shown in their sector and took the opportunity to explain to him the difficulties of the banking sector. These include, among other things, the problem of supplying certain branches and ATMs, the suspension of contracts for infrastructure works financed by banks, the payment of the domestic debt, the crisis liquidity, the impact of the difficult socio-economic context on the activities of the banking system.

To these concerns, the President of the Transition has promised to provide solutions, through the improvement of mobility and supply within the country. The Head of State also hailed the resilience of banks and financial institutions and invited them to make more sacrifices to support development actions.

APBEF-B, satisfied with this first meeting, is committed to supporting the government in the implementation of the Action Plan for Stabilization and Development. The banking system congratulated the Head of State for all the actions to secure our country and reiterated its availability to support the actions of the State for the return of peace

Source: Burkina Information Agency

The second phase of universal health insurance for workers in Burkina will be financed to the tune of 2 billion FCFA and should cover 3 million 300 thousand workers in the public and private sectors, including actors in the the informal economy, by 2025, the AIB learned on Monday.

“At an estimated cost of 2,600,000 euros, or nearly two billion FCFA, the second phase of the project ''Building social protection floors for all''. aims to finalize the technical parameters of the universal health insurance scheme on the basis of a national consensus and finally begin its operationalization,” said the Head of Cooperation of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium, Marie-Goretti Nyirarukundo.

According to her, social protection is a fundamental human right and not a privilege reserved for the few. It is one of the most effective instruments for combating poverty.

“This social protection is not just a simple government policy, it is a solid foundation for equal opportunity, it is also a symbol of a commitment to human dignity, social justice and equity” , she added.

Marie-Goretti Nyirarukundo indicated that the second phase aims to consolidate the achievements of the first phase, which has made it possible to achieve significant results, among other things, the solid foundations, especially at the legal level, on which to build an operational and sustainable universal health insurance scheme. in Burkina Faso.

Marie-Goretti Nyirarukundo spoke on Monday August 28, 2023 in Ouagadougou, during the launch of the second phase of the project "Building social protection floors for all", in the presence of the Minister of the Public Service, Labor and Protection social, Bassolma Bazié.

"According to the spirit of Convention 102 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), each State should take steps to protect its populations from the economic and social difficulties that may result from illness, maternity, accident at work or an occupational disease, unemployment, invalidity, old age and death”, informed the Minister in charge of the Public Service Bassolma Bazié.

Mr. Bazié reassured that the operationalization of the universal health insurance scheme remains a priority for the Transition, with the first target being 15% of the population, i.e. 3,300,000 workers in the public and private sectors, including actors in the informal economy, covered by 2025.

He also urged all stakeholders in the implementation of the project, to appropriate the different articulations of the project's actions and to invest themselves fully in order to make the project a success in Burkina Faso.

"The Government will spare no effort to strengthen the accessibility of health services to all, in particular through the operationalization of universal health insurance and the promotion of social mutuals", he reassured. .

"We have a common responsibility to ensure that health insurance is a reality for all Burkinabè regardless of their income levels," said the director of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Fréderic Lapeyre.

According to him, phase 1 of the project aimed to strengthen social protection through the extension of health coverage to workers in the informal economy. He provided support for the start-up of the universal health insurance scheme.

“For the implementation of this second phase of the project, it will generally be a question of finalizing and approving the technical and financial parameters of the scheme, developing appropriate tools and procedures, building the capacities of actors and institutions, 'initiate the process of contracting with the supply of care and support communication and awareness of the actors,' he said.

Source: Burkina Information Agency

The Organization of Young People Committed to Citizen Participation and Sustainable Development (OJEPC) organized a training workshop to build the capacity of 25 media men on Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Health ( DSSR) and the fight against gender-based violence (GBV), on August 22 and 23, 2023 in Ouagadougou. This workshop was organized with the support of the NGO Médecins du Monde (MdM)

"We are organizing this training for men and women in the media because we believe that in order to advance and assert sexual and reproductive health rights and also the promotion of gender, the fight against gender inequality, it It is imperative to involve everyone, all the actors”, indicated the president of the OJEPC, Stevie Reine Yaméogo.

For Ms. Yaméogo, it would be very effective to be able to achieve the various promotional objectives precisely through the various media and journalistic discourses.

According to her, the contribution and commitment of media people in this fight will help to break down prejudices around the theme of SRHR and GBV.

"Journalists are expected to play more of their role as citizen watchdogs in the application of laws on sexual and reproductive health and also in raising public awareness," said the president of the OJEPC.

In the opinion of the coordinator of the OJEPC, David Koné, the state of play of SRHR and GBV is not entirely reduced in Burkina Faso.

This has worsened with the security context and the social and cultural constraints where the issue tends to be relegated to the background or even forgotten by the populations.

He called for working so that people can change their mentality on the approach.

The coordinator of the Association of Journalists and Communicators in Population and Development (AJC / PD), Boureima Sanga, invited his colleagues to have an impact through their productions, to bring about positive change in society.

“Communication is really showing journalists that we also have the power to change things. We also have the power to participate precisely in development” and also “by ensuring that the productions we produce are quality productions”.

Source: Burkina Information Agency