Mission and Social Policy

I- MISSION

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The BO Foundation advocates for equitable access to basic quality education, entrepreneurship and innovation, clean and safe drinking water, protecting the environment, quality healthcare as a basic human right and for a meaningful cultural exchange between Africans and the African diaspora throughout the world, with a particular focus on improving the quality of life for women and girls in Africa. 

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II- SOCIAL POLICY

The BO Foundation bases its social policy on UN Sustainable Development Goals, World Health Organization reports, and policy frameworks as published by different international think tanks dedicated to the guarantee of human rights, the eradication of poverty, and equitable access to education and entrepreneurship opportunities. Our policy focus is based on the following: 

Women and Girls - In accordance with UN SDG 5.3, The Bo Foundation supports the elimination of harmful practices like female genital mutilation, forced childhood marriage, bride kidnapping, forced feeding, stoning, virginity testing, and other harmful practices committed against women and girls that constitute violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Education - Our educational policy is based on "whole child development," and the belief that equitable basic education is a fundamental right. Through engagement with the community, environment, and familial relationships we seek to ensure good physical and mental health, social emotional development, identity development, cognitive development, and academic development of all African children. 

Healthcare - Our healthcare policy is based on a commitment to adequate, affordable, and accessible healthcare to all Africans. Given that Sub-Saharan Africa is the place in the world with the most child deaths, our policy focuses on lowering the infant mortality rates, lowering the under 5 mortality rates, and lowering the maternal mortality rates in West Africa. We also seek to fight the number one cause of death in West Africa - pneumonia caused by lower respiratory diseases. This is mostly due to dust from the Sahel, and we believe that pushing back the expansion of the Sahel should be viewed as a national security risk by all countries affected by the Sahel and the Sahara.

Water and the Environment - Our social policy on the environment is based on UN SDG 1.5 - build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters; 2.4 - ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, and other UN SDGs on the environment. 

Entrepreneurship and Innovation - Our policy is to provide equitable access to entrepreneurship opportunities for all African youth, and particularly women. Based on UN SDGs 4 and 8, our policy promotes development and supports productive activities, decent job creation, creativity and innovation, and encourages the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), including through access to financial services, substantially increasing the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment and decent jobs and business creation.

Diaspora and Citizen Diplomacy - Our policy is based on the desire to bring Africa to the diaspora, and the diaspora to Africa. There are around 30 million descendants of Africans in the United States, another 40 million in the Caribbean, and another 130 million in Latin America. This is the largest population of descendants of Africans in the world other than on the continent, and it is our policy to ensure that there is a dynamic cultural exchange between all Africans and the diaspora. We recognize that after 1,000 years of slavery, and 100 years of colonization Africa's elite children continue to migrate to other parts of the world, and this has caused a vacuum of skills, knowledge, and wealth that can greatly benefit us all on the continent, if we come together to build a better Africa. In turn we seek to bring the knowledge and experience of African elders to the rest of the world.