Burkina Faso West Africa

When the campaign began in West Africa, as many as 10% of the population in high impact regions were completely blind and 30% had severe visual handicaps. People in West Africa recognized that something associated with the rivers was causing blindness and farmers began leaving their fields. One study in the early 1970s documented that 250,000 square kilometers of once-productive river valley had been abandoned, which translated into an economic loss of $30 million a year. ... [Read More]

Africa

Bureau of Public Affairs Electronic Information and Publications Office [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

Algeria is primarily a transit country for men, women, and children trafficked from Central and Western Africa en route to Europe for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation. Once in Algeria, some women find themselves exploited in prostitution, usually by a family member, when their financial situation becomes dire. African and Algerian human smugglers use deception and fraud to entice would-be victims from their countries by falsely promising victims easy passage through Algeria to destinations in Europe. They then abandon their victims after they cross over Algeria’s vast and porous border in the south. In addition to instances of trafficking for prostitution cited above, desperate economic circumstances force some men to seek work as laborers in construction and other menial work. There are reportedly an estimated 200,000 illegal immigrants in Algeria, some of whom are believed to be trafficking ... [Read More]

TRAFFICKING IN CHILDREN: West and Central Africa

HTTP/1.0 200 OKCache-Control: max-age=14399Connection: closeDate: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 03:50:18 GMTETag: "545009-7f4-425a9e6a"Server: ApacheContent-Length: 9762Content-Type: text/htmlLast-Modified: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 03:50:18 GMTClient-Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 03:40:06 GMTClient-Peer: 208.254.57.189:80Client-Response-Num: 1Title: TRAFFICKING IN CHILDREN: West and Central AfricaX-Meta-Department Of State: The International Programs office of the U.S. Department of State conducts, develops and distributes Public Diplomacy materials in support of U.S. foreign policy objectives. Among its products and services are topical Web sites, a daily press service (the Washington File), publications, a speakers service, and overseas information resource centers.X-Meta-Keywords: DOS, Department of State, Country, Bureau, Government, United States Foreign Policy, Secretary of State, U.S., Embassy, Consulate, American Culture, Africa, Society, Values, International, Public Affairs, Trafficking, Children, Econo ... [Read More]

Country Commercial Guide

Commercial environment: Burkina Faso’s limitedmarket is offset by a stable commercial environment and the potential to exploit thelarger West African francophone market. Burkina is a member of the West African Monetaryand Economic Union (UEMOA), and its currency is the Community of Francophone Africa Franc(CFAF). The CFAF is backed by the French Treasury, trades at a fixed rate with the Frenchfranc, and is fully convertible. ... [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report

Englebert, Pierre, Burkina Faso: Unsteady Statehood in West Africa, Westview Press, 1989Howorth, Chris, Rebuilding the Local Landscape: Environmental Management in Burkina Faso, 1999McMillan, Della, Sahel Visions: Planned Settlement and River Blindness Control in Burkina Faso, 1995Riesman, Paul, First Find Your child a Good Mother: The Construction of Self in Two African Communities, 1992Riesman, Paul, Freedom in Fulani Social Life, 1998Sanders, Shapiro and Ramaswamy, The Economics of Agricultural Technology in Semiarid Sub-Sahara Africa, 1996Sankara, Thomas, Sankara Speaks: The Burkina Faso Revolution, 1983-87, (translated by Samantha Anderson) [Read More]

Ministerial Conference on Agriculture and Technology West African Perspectives - US Department of State

Conference sponsors are the United States Department of Agriculture, the Burkina Faso Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Fisheries Resources, the United States Department of State, and the United States Agency for International Development. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), and the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) endorse the Conference and provide advisory support. ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso 2000 Post Report

Burkina Faso puts great emphasis on art and culture.Ouagadougou’s biennial crafts and film festivals attract artists from all of Africa.Burkinabe masks, metal sculpture, woodcarving, textiles, pottery, music, dancing, andtheater are all well-known in West Africa. Modern interpretations of traditional designs,works in nontraditional media, traveling exhibits, and works of individual African andWestern artists can be seen at Centre Culturel Georges Melies, the French Cultural Center.The Moro Naba ceremony, which is theater and tradition centered on the current Emperor ofthe Mossi, is enacted every Friday in Ouagadougou. Traditional music and danceperformances are frequent and will be featured in any village ceremony or public event.The international arts and crafts festival, SIAO is held in Ouagadougou in October ofeven-numbered years. Francophone Africa’s major film festival, FESPACO, held inFebruary of odd-numbered years, represents film works fr ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso

COUNTRY DESCRIPTION:  Burkina Faso, previously known as Upper Volta, is a developing country in western Africa that borders the Sahara Desert.  The capital is Ouagadougou and the official language is French.  It is one of the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa:  basic infrastructure is unreliable, technical competence is hard to find, the climate is severe, and the majority of the population is involved in subsistence agriculture.  Tourists most often come to Burkina Faso from December to February, after the rainy season and before the heat becomes oppressive, but tourist infrastructure is limited.  Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso have international class hotels, but accommodation in other areas is much more basic.  Read the Department of State Background Notes on Burkina Faso at http://www.s ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso (03/05)

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country located in the middle of West Africa's "hump." It is geographically in the Sahel--the agricultural region between the Sahara Desert and the coastal rain forests. Most of central Burkina Faso lies on a savanna plateau, 200 meters-300 meters (650 ft.-1,000 ft.) above sea level, with fields, brush, and scattered trees. The largest river is the Mouhoun (Black Volta), which is partially navigable by small craft. Burkina Faso has West Africa's largest elephant population. Game preserves also are home to lions, hippos, monkeys, warthogs, and antelope. Infrastructure and tourism are, however, not well developed. Annual average rainfall varies from about 100 centimeters (40 in.) in the south to less than 25 centimeters (10 in.) in the north and northeast, where hot desert winds accentuate the dryness of the region. The cooler season, November to February, is pleasantly warm and dry (but dusty), with cool evenings. March-June can be very hot. In July-Septembe ... [Read More]