Newsletter – n°16 – November 2012

Initiative worth following

In collaboration with the cities of Bamako (Mali) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), the city of Paris is finishing a project that should allow over 3 million people to benefit from more efficient health services and reinforce the autonomy of the two partner cities.

Following the decentralisation process, in the 90s, local authorities in Burkina Faso and Mali acquired new areas of expertise, among which the management of health centres.  However, many weaknesses remained (wrong diagnosis due to inadequate or inoperative material or under-qualified personnel) and did not allow an adequate primary health offer. From January 2012 to December 2012, Paris worked with Bamako and Ouagadougou to reinforce know-how and governance of the partner cities in this domain.

The project allowed to train 688 persons (health personnel, administrative personnel and elected representatives) and to adopt a local sanitary development plan in Ouagadougou. The plan highlights four priorities for 2013-2017: capacity building for health managers, reinforcement of the coordination of all stakeholders in the health domain, reinforcement of the prevention, screening and treatment of sexually transmissible infections, HIV/AIDS and improvement of the quality and motivation of health personnel.

In Bamako, despite difficulties related to the political context, the local sanitary development plan is being elaborated and should be adopted in 2013. Additionally, a preparatory unit will be installed in view of the creation of a future health and social action department as soon as the context allows it.

The success of the project was guaranteed by the diversity of the partners involved, especially the Ecole des hautes études en santé publique of Rennes, the AIMF, the Esther Public Interest Group, the Groupe Pivot Santé Population in Mali and Metis partners. The project is representative of the commitment of the city of Paris in terms of capacity sharing and reinforcement of local autonomy through decentralised cooperation.  

Besides the tangible results, the trilateral relation created between the three cities is a reason for great satisfaction. Ouagadougou was very much interested by the health system in place in Bamako, and Bamako showed great interest for the cleaning and waste management policies in place in Ouagadougou. The exchange was equally enriching for the teams representing the city of Paris in the project.

It has to be noted that the project, worth 1.2 million euro, would not have been possible without the support of the European Commission, who financed 75% through the Non-State Actors – Local Authorities programme.