On December 8, Ambassador Tulinabo Mushingi went to the cities of Kaya and Boussouma in the Center-North region.
The main goal of the trip was to highlight U.S.-Burkina Faso cooperation in the fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) – in this case, Lymphatic Filiariasis and Blinding Trachoma. It is in this context that the Ambassador visited the Boussouma Health Center where NGO Helen Keller International (HKI) is healing patients with funding from USAID. These funds also support the five-year morbidity management and disability prevention program established to eradicate these diseases from Burkina, a country that has become a model in this fight. So far, 39 health districts have ceased the mass treatment for the Filiariasis, and 25 districts have stopped treating the Trachome because the disease is no longer transmitted. Those results were welcomed by the Ambassador, who declared that “only healthy people will see to the development of this country.”
The Ambassador was welcomed by the Center-North regional governor in the Boussouma Dima’s palace. In addition to connecting with all the social classes and chiefdoms to gauge the realities of the inner country, Ambassador Mushingi also acknowledged the Burkinabe people for their mobilization and exemplary behavior that ensured peaceful and transparent elections.
