Burkina Faso

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Light for the World has been helping to break down barriers to disability inclusion in Burkina Faso since 2004 and opened an office there in 2009. We are proud of our systems change approach to promoting person-centred quality care throughout the country.

Our impact in 2021

More than 48,000 people reached in the field of eye health
More than 7,600 people reached in the field of disability inclusion (inclusive education, economic empowerment, Disability Inclusion in Community Development – DICD)

What we do

We enable eye health services

Our goal is for all women, men and children in Burkina Faso to have access to comprehensive, inclusive, resilient and quality eye health services by the end of 2025. We place a special focus on vulnerable groups and students, notably through the “1,2,3 I can see!” programme. We support the development of accessible and quality eye care services for the population, strengthening the skills and expertise of medical personnel in collaboration with the Ministries of Health and Education, other NGOs and implementing partners.

We champion inclusive education

We are working with the Burkina Faso government to make sure that by the end of 2025, the country’s national education system will include all children identified and enrolled in our eye care programme without distinction or discrimination because of gender, disability, religion, ethnicity and social status.

To achieve this, we influence education sector policy and funding, infrastructure development and teacher training to better include children with disabilities and other vulnerable groups in schools.

Slideshow image showing how Light for the World supports people with cataracts with free eye surgery.

Our eye health programme includes free cataract surgery for people like Paul Yabre, who can see again following outreach work in Zabre, southeastern Burkina Faso. © KIO Photography

Slideshow image showing how Light for the World supports children with disabilities through our inclusive education programme.

Our inclusive education programme includes training teachers to champion inclusion of children with disabilities in the classroom. © KIO Photography

Slideshow image showing how Light for the World supports people with low vision to work independently.

Through our eye health programme, we provide assistive technology to empower people with sight loss to work independently. Nadège uses a device called evo10 to record lessons and later transcribe them to Braille. She wants to become a journalist. © KIO Photography

Cathérine, who is blind and has a baby, learned to weave baskets, chair covers and other objects in a Light for the World project designed to equip people with disabilities with income-generating skills. © Light for the World

We promote inclusive economic empowerment

We support inclusive economic empowerment and livelihood activities, including vocational training, for people with disabilities and internally displaced people in Burkina Faso. We do this in collaboration with government institutions, disability stakeholders, civil society, and NGOs, as well as financial and training institutions. Together, these initiatives aim to build resilience among these communities and foster a more welcoming and inclusive social environment for them (find out more on SPARK website).