Context

In 2015, Burkina Faso ranked 185th out of 188 on the HDI, and 44% of the population lives on less than $1.25 a day. More than 1,400,000 people (8.8% of the population) are visually impaired, of whom more than 230,000 are reportedly blind. The Bobo-Dioulasso region has many areas with little or no development, often neglected outlying neighbourhoods with poor water supply and often poorly integrated into public services, where fragile populations are concentrated.

 

Supported project

In 2020-2021, the L'OCCITANE Foundation and the international headquarters of L'OCCITANE are supporting the Order of Malta and its eye screening project in the uninhabited areas of Ouadougou. 

The project aims to ensure ophthalmological screening among the Burkinabé population. Cataract cases detected that can be operated on will benefit from a pair of glasses and a  full medical charge of quality at a social price, as well as refractive errors that can be corrected. The action will be concentrated in non-urbanized areas, outlying districts often cut off from water and electricity, where precarious populations live and where the need for an optical health care is present.

In addition, the originality of the project also lies in numerous glasses collected from the general French public (thanks to a large network of volunteers and the generosity of donors), sorted, washed and conditioned by the centers of the Order of Malta France; they will be distributed to help visually impaired Burkinabés.

Some figures

 

Budget 20.000 euros

Results 495 beneficiaries

Partnership history

Project supported since 2017

The L'OCCITANE Foundation and the international headquarters of L'OCCITANE have been committed since 2017 with the Ordre de Malte to support its programme to improve visual acuity through prevention, promotion and implementation of health care.

During the previous years, the project aimed to ensure the screening and treatment of visual impairments among the populations of the non-housing areas and the surroundings of Bobo Dioulasso. It included screening for deficiencies, sales of glasses or cataract operations through comprehensive and quality medical care at a social price.

 

More information