Ouagadougou: A consortium of three non-governmental organizations launched a program of activities entitled KENEYA YIRI (‘health close to home’) on Friday. This initiative is jointly funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the European Union, and is under the leadership of the Ministry of Health of Burkina Faso.
According to Burkina Information Agency, the KENEYA SIRA (‘health close at hand’) program is an extension of the national program deployed in the Tannounyan region for the period from 2026 to December 31, 2028. In the Tannounyan region, it aims to improve access to essential care in the health districts of Banfora, Mangodara, and Sindou by strengthening infrastructure, the capacities of health workers, and community participation, including in areas affected by the security crisis.
The launch of KENEYA YIRI’s activities on June 19, 2026, has the general objective of improving access to and use of essential health services by strengthening local governance and the active participation of communities in the implementation of universal health coverage (UHC) in Burkina Faso. The project sponsors, valued at over 5 billion 300 million FCFA, are led by the Burkinabe Association for Family Welfare (ABBEF), with co-sponsors including the Federation of Private Health Sector Actors of Burkina (FASPB) and the Community Convergence of Faso (COCOFA).
Placed under the leadership of the Ministry of Health of Burkina Faso, the coordination of the project is ensured by comrade Hamdy M. Kouanda, with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the European Union (Team Europe Initiative) as funders. The ceremony was marked by a tree-planting session and the laying of the foundation stone for the normalization of the CMA of Sindou.
The expected results of the project in the Tannounyan region include the rehabilitation of 40 health facilities, the standardization of the CMA in Sindou, the provision of medical-technical equipment to 115 health facilities, the construction of 15 community health posts, the construction of 14 incinerators (Wonbzanga type), and the acquisition of three mobile clinics. In total, 828,000 people will be impacted, including 414,000 beneficiaries of community care and services, including internally displaced persons.
Speaking at the launch, the Secretary General of the Tannounyan region, Toussaint Meda, representing the Governor, expressed his satisfaction and invited health actors to ensure good follow-up of activities on the ground. He also called on the population and the management committees (COGES) to take ownership of the implementation of the project in order to improve health indicators.
For the chairman of the steering committee of the KENEYA YIRI program, Sabou Kabore, the expected results will be achieved by the end of the project, thanks to the involvement of the COGES and basic health structures. “The urgent need is to see a health center with a surgical unit built as soon as possible, for the benefit of the population,” he added.
The Ambassador of the Netherlands, Pieter D. Smidt van Gelder, emphasized the priority of health for the population, mentioning ongoing efforts in food security, state security, and human rights. “Here in KENEYA YIRI, this mainly concerns the health sector for the next five years in the ten regions of the country,” he stated. He also expressed his commitment to visiting project sites to support the initiative and noted the privilege of laying the first stone of the CMA in Sindou.