Burkina Faso Food

U.S. relations with Burkina Faso are good but subject to strains in the past because of the Compaore government's past involvement in arms trading and other sanctions-breaking activity. In addition to regional peace and stability, U.S. interests in Burkina are to promote continued democratization and greater respect for human rights and to encourage sustainable economic development. Although the Agency for International Development (USAID) closed its office in Ouagadougou in 1995, about $18 million annually of USAID funding goes to Burkina's development through non-governmental and regional organizations. The largest is a Food for Peace school lunch program administered by Catholic Relief Services. Burkina has been the site of several development success stories. U.S. leadership in building food security in the Sahel after the 1968-74 drought has been successful in virtually eliminating famine, despite recurrent drought years. River blindness has been eliminated from the region. In bot ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso

Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747); fax 1-888-CDC-FAXX (1-888-232-3299), or via the CDC’s Internet site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel.  For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad consult the World Health Organization’s (WHO) website at http://www.who.int/en.  Further health information for travelers is available at http://www.who.int/ith. ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso 2000 Post Report

Burkina's trade deficit is balanced by loans, foreignassistance, and money sent home from Burkinabe working abroad. Imports include vehicles,mechanical and electrical equipment, petroleum products, metals, textiles, food,beverages, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals. Mineral exploration, solar energy, communicationsequipment, water resources, livestock production, and food processing offer commercialpotential. ...

Local bottled beverages and processed foods are generallysatisfactory. Fresh milk is unsafe unless you pasteurize it. Imported UTH long life milkmay be purchased locally. It has been treated and bottled in sterile packages. Localpeanut butter, oil, and other food items are often scooped from large bowls into used cansfor selling. Most are safe if cooked before eating. Meat purchased in local stores andbutcher shops are considered safe, but should be cooked thoroughly. ... [Read More]

Country Commercial Guide

The U.S. provides humanitarian assistance to Burkina Fasowith food and modest levels of regional and bilateral development assistance. In 1995, theUSAID in-country mission closed; in 1996 Peace Corps volunteers returned after aneight-year absence. As of July 1999, the Peace Corps is working primarily in the sectorsof health, sanitation, and education. ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso

Children The Constitution nominally protects children's rights. The Government demonstrated its commitment to improve the condition of children by continuing efforts, in cooperation with donors, to revitalize primary health care by focusing on care for nursing mothers and infants; vaccination campaigns for measles, meningitis, and other illnesses; and health education. The Government allotted approximately 25 percent of the national budget to education, and the law provides for free compulsory education; however, the Government lacked the means to provide universal, free primary education. If a child qualified on the basis of grades and social condition (that is, the family was "poor"), tuition-free education could continue through junior high and high school. In practice the family condition requirement often was ignored, giving many children a tuition-free education through high school. Children still were responsible for paying for school supplies, an ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

France is a destination country for women trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude, primarily from Eastern and Central Europe and Africa. The number of Chinese women trafficked to France for sexual exploitation increased in 2004. The government estimates that there are 10,000 to 12,000 trafficking victims in France, 3,000-8,000 of whom are children forced into prostitution and labor. Nigerian trafficking networks continued to expand their activities in France. Trafficking of Brazilian women and girls for sexual exploitation to French Guiana — a French possession — remained a serious problem. The Government of France fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Although the government did not provide full data on investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and sentences, the Secretary of State has ... [Read More]

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

The Conference is examining the use of appropriate technologies to raise the productivity of staple-food and high-value crops in West Africa, with the goal of strengthening food security, reducing hunger and improving nutrition. All sessions are being held in the Ouaga 2000 Conference Center, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. There will be an Opening and Closing Plenary, a Regional Roundtable, two Luncheon presentations, and four Workshops focusing on the following themes: ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso

Trafficked children were subject to violence, sexual abuse, forced prostitution, and deprivation of food, shelter, schooling, and medical care. Organized child trafficking networks existed throughout the country. One study identified eight networks in Ouagadougou and seven in Bobo-Dioulasso. Child trafficking networks cooperated with regional smuggling rings. ...

In the past, some children voluntarily traveled to Cote d'Ivoire to work as agricultural laborers to escape poverty at home. In other cases, children were lured to plantation work in Cote d'Ivoire by false promises of generous remuneration, only to be forced to work under very harsh conditions for little or no payment. Some children were forced to work long hours without pay, allegedly to repay the cost of their transport to Cote d'Ivoire and of the food and housing on the plantation. ... [Read More]

Special Self-Help Program

In the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2001 wedistributed $140,000 U.S. dollars for self-help projects in Burkina Faso. In the fiscalyear that ended September 30, 2002 we distributed $118,000 U.S. dollars. Much of thismoney was spent on projects involving the construction of schools, the production of waterresources, and the construction of food production facilities. Almost all of this money isused for projects in small or medium-size villages. ... [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report

Hepatitis, typhoid, and gastrointestinal disorders are usually related to contaminated foods and water. While different members of the Embassy community have different thresholds for what they will eat and drink in country, all personnel and family members are encouraged to exercise common sense when it comes to food and drinks. At home, most Embassy families use distilled (filtered) water for drinking, making ice, and brushing teeth. In addition, the Health Unit recommends soaking fruits and vegetables for 30 minutes in an iodine or chlorine bleach solution before eating, as well as cooking meat thoroughly. When dining out, the Embassy community generally avoids unbottled water and ice cubes in local restaurants, although bottled water, bottled sodas, hot coffee, and tea should be safe. Ouagadougou has a wide range of restaurants that cater to expatriates; at most of these, members of the Embassy community are comfortable eating salads and other uncooked foods. As a general rule, howe ... [Read More]