Health and Wellness
The BO Foundation is committed to the expansion of universal essential, mental, and reproductive health services, information, and education paying special attention to the needs of women and girls, and the promotion of good physical and mental health and well-being.
The main objectives of the Health and Well-being Program are:
- Promote and engage in activities, events, and projects that lower the maternal, infant, and child mortality rates
- Promote and engage in activities, events, and projects that improve health worker density, distribution, and retention
- Promote and engage in activities, events, and projects that improve the use, availability, and effectiveness of healthcare technology
- Ensure good overall physical and mental health and well-being of women, children, and other vulnerable groups especially those impacted by internal conflicts.
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Target Region Analysis:
Burkina Faso
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Maternal Mortality Rate : 320 per 100,000 live births
Infant Mortality Rate : 53 per 1,000 live births
Essential Health Coverage Index : 43%
How BO Foundation Helps
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The BO Foundation’s Medical Equipment Container Project was launched in 2021. Through partners like Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach and MedWish the BO Foundation acquires 40 ft. shipping containers loaded with up to 4,500 lbs of medical equipment and supplies shipped from the United States. The container we received in November of 2021 from Hospital Sisters contained $250,000 worth of hospital equipment, furniture, and supplies. The equipment was distributed to different community medical centers and has improved healthcare access for nearly 300,000 underserved people.
My Sister’s Keeper is a seminar on personal hygiene and reproductive health designed to teach young women and girls to be comfortable and familiar with their bodies to help shatter the stigma around menstruation. The seminar gives practical and environmentally appropriate advice that includes homemade beauty secrets like depilation methods, homemade deodorant and soaps, and proper hair care. Attendees of the seminar receive a Days for Girls Kit provided by Days for Girls International which include washcloths, panties, soap, washable absorbent liners, a carrying pouch, and a care and use guide. The seminar was attended by more than 750 young women and girls in 2021, and so far, 150 young women and girls have attended our seminars in 2022.
The Biomedical Equipment Technician Internship Project has multiple benefits to different parties involved. Through this project the BO Foundation provides healthcare technology management support and infrastructure to hospitals in underserved communities. The project offers young biomedical engineering students or recent graduates three months of hands-on experience in the different aspects of healthcare technology management including repair, calibration of equipment, infection control protocols, inventory management, contract management, regulatory management, and much more with the aims of not only preparing them for the healthcare technology industry rather the project seeks to prepare the future leaders of the burgeoning African healthcare technology industry. The project also ensures that equipment donated to community hospitals has proper long-term care and that healthcare staff are properly trained and supported in their use of equipment donated through our Medical Equipment Container Project. The BO Foundation currently has two full-time interns, and four part-time interns participating in the program servicing half a dozen hospitals across three districts of Burkina Faso.
