Burkina Faso

Pathfinder works with local partners to expand access to sexual and reproductive health care in an increasingly fragile context, affected by worsening security conditions, and the impacts of climate change and humanitarian crises. Over the last decade, we have supported access to: contraception; comprehensive abortion care; maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition services; and water, sanitation, and hygiene practices.

Health Service Delivery
Pathfinder partners with the Ministry of Health to enhance access to client-centered health services. We support public and private health facilities to use high-impact practices in emergency maternal and neonatal care, contraception, service integration, and task-shifting and -sharing.

We strengthen the skills of facility-based healthcare providers and community-based agents through on-site training, formative supervision, and clinical mentorship. Our support to the government ensures continuity of services in fragile settings, specifically through the establishment of advanced health posts and the revitalization of traditional birth attendance in areas where health clinics are closed due to security challenges.

Additionally, we implement social and behavior change strategies to reshape social norms and cultural barriers that impede access to services, encouraging the adoption of healthy behaviors among individuals, families, and communities. We establish or strengthen community platforms to deliver community health services, including community health clubs, youth platforms, community health worker management support groups, and community health posts.

Health System Strengthening
We collaborate with the Ministry of Health to strengthen the governance of the health system at all levels. Our support extends to strategic planning, policy formulation, and sectoral health strategies, as well as operational planning including budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, and knowledge sharing. Additionally, Pathfinder works to enhance the frameworks and bodies for steering, coordination, collaboration, and intra- and inter-sectoral dialogue. We ensure social accountability in health care and community engagement to improve the quality and reach of health care.

Pathfinder strives to improve the quality and use of data for decision-making by supporting the revision of norms, standards, and tools for routine health information systems; on-site data quality assessments and quality audits; and performance indicator analysis. Furthermore, Pathfinder works on strengthening basic medical supplies, equipment, and healthcare infrastructure.

Local Capacity Strengthening
Pathfinder supports localization efforts by enhancing the capacities of a variety of national NGOs in leadership, financing, and programming. To better guide the localization agenda, we have also adopted practices that ensure our work puts local actors in the lead, strengthens local systems, and is responsive to local communities.