WHO · UNICEF · UN IGME 2024← All Countries

🇧🇫

Maternal & Child Mortality
in Burkina Faso

West Africa · #14 of 30 worst globally

Child Deaths Since Jan 1, 2026

0

66.9 per 1,000 live births · Burkina Faso

Deaths at Birth Today

0

est. newborns today

Infant Mortality Rate

66.9

per 1,000 · 2.5× world avg

Maternal Mortality Rate

370

per 100,000 · 1.9× world avg

West Africa

Birth Mortality Crisis

Mothers & Newborns
Dying in Burkina Faso
During Childbirth

370 maternal deaths per 100,000 — rising rapidly as skilled birth attendants flee conflict zones.

Newborn & Infant Mortality

66.9deaths per 1,000 live births

2.5× the world average

Maternal Mortality During Birth

370deaths per 100,000 live births

1.9× the world average

👶

Newborn & Child Deaths During Birth in Burkina Faso

Two coups in 2022 and jihadist violence have created the worst humanitarian crisis in West Africa. Over 2 million are internally displaced. Jihadist groups have deliberately targeted health workers.

Progress made through 2015 is being rapidly reversed. Health workers are fleeing insecure areas.

Leading Causes of Child Death at Birth

Malaria30%

Neonatal causes23%

Diarrhoea15%

Pneumonia13%

Other19%

* Neonatal deaths (first 28 days) represent the largest share of under-5 mortality.

What Happens in the Delivery Room

🏥

Births in a health facility~80%

estimated — lower in conflict/rural areas

👩‍⚕️

Skilled birth attendant present~45%

doctor, midwife or trained nurse

⚠️

Neonatal deaths (first 28 days)48%

of all under-5 deaths occur at birth

🩸

Most preventable with skilled care~75%

of child and maternal deaths

🤱

Maternal Mortality During Birth in Burkina Faso

Two coups in 2022 led to expulsion of key NGOs. Health workers in the north and east receive death threats from jihadist groups.

Deteriorating rapidly since 2021. UN OCHA warns of humanitarian catastrophe.

Causes of Death During Labour & Delivery

Haemorrhage28%

Eclampsia20%

Sepsis18%

Obstructed labour16%

Anaemia10%

Other8%

* Haemorrhage and eclampsia together cause over 50% of deaths — both are treatable with basic skilled care.

Why Mothers Die at Birth Here

🩺

Emergency obstetric care availableLimited

few facilities can manage haemorrhage

🩸

Blood transfusion accessCritical gap

haemorrhage kills within 2 hours

💊

Magnesium sulphate (eclampsia)Often absent

costs $1 — saves lives instantly

✅

If skilled care were universal~75% fewer deaths

WHO estimate for this mortality level

⚠️

Why Is This Still Happening?

Structural Barriers to Safe Birth in Burkina Faso

Two military coups (2022) expelling French forces and NGOs

Jihadist groups controlling 40% of territory

2M+ internally displaced persons

Deliberate targeting of health workers and facilities

4.7M facing acute food insecurity

🎯

SDG 3 Progress Assessment

Without security stabilisation, all SDG targets in Burkina Faso are unreachable.

💡

Prevention & Solutions

How Can We Prevent This in Burkina Faso?

📍 The Situation

Burkina Faso is experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis driven by the Sahel insurgency, which has displaced over 2 million people and caused the closure of hundreds of health facilities. Mobile health delivery — taking services to displaced communities — is increasingly the only model that works.

🔬 How Ultrasound Helps

Portable POCUS is uniquely suited to the mobile health model being deployed in Burkina Faso. A handheld device, carried in a backpack alongside essential medicines, allows a health worker visiting a displaced community to provide a level of obstetric assessment previously impossible outside of fixed facilities. GUSI's training model — which does not require hospital affiliation — enables community health workers operating in humanitarian contexts to acquire POCUS skills.

🎓 The Training Gap

The expulsion of key NGOs following the 2022 coups has shrunk the available training infrastructure. GUSI's online ScanHub™ platform — accessible anywhere with a smartphone — provides a training pathway that does not depend on in-country NGO presence.

What a trained provider can detect with a portable ultrasound device

🩸Placenta previa

🔄Malpresentation

👥Twin pregnancy

📉Fetal growth restriction

⚡Pre-eclampsia markers

🫁Childhood pneumonia

💉Internal bleeding

🧠Hydrocephalus

🧮

Interactive Model

POCUS Impact Calculator — Burkina Faso

Model based on: 600 scans/provider/year · 15% high-risk detection rate · 47% mortality reduction for detected cases (Swanson et al. 2014 · WHO POCUS in LMICs review)

Number of POCUS-trained providers deployed in Burkina Faso50

1 provider250500 providers

Scans per Year

30,000

pregnant women screened

High-Risk Detected

4,500

flagged for referral / intervention

Maternal Deaths Prevented

25

mothers saved per year

Newborn Deaths Prevented

54

babies saved per year

Total Lives Saved Per Year

79deaths prevented

1.6

lives per provider

$313

est. cost per life saved

$24,750

total training investment

* This calculator uses a conservative evidence-based model. Actual impact varies by deployment context, provider experience, and health system capacity. Training cost based on GUSI OB POCUS Essentials (~$495/provider). Mortality reduction from peer-reviewed POCUS implementation studies in low-resource settings.

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Technology & Education

A Practical Plan to Bring POCUS to Burkina Faso

🗺️ Deployment Roadmap for Burkina Faso

Baseline assessment — map existing facilities, referral pathways, blood supply, and available midwives, nurses, and physicians who could be trained.
Provider training — enrol local champions in GUSI's OB POCUS Essentials + Pediatric POCUS courses. Certify a core group to train others.
Device procurement — select appropriate portable handheld devices based on power infrastructure, connectivity, and budget (see brands below).
Protocols & referral integration — define what to scan, what findings trigger referral, and how to document scans at the point of care.
Quality assurance — regular image review sessions, outcomes tracking, and refresher training to maintain competency.

📡 Recommended Portable Ultrasound Devices

🦋 Butterfly iQ+

Website →

Single-probe whole-body device covering OB, cardiac, lung, and FAST exams. App-based platform with built-in AI guidance. Designed for low-resource environments — charges via USB and works with any smartphone.

🔵 Philips Lumify

Website →

App-based probe that plugs into Android phones. Multiple transducer heads available for OB and point-of-care use. Widely used in GUSI-supported training programs globally.

🟢 GE Vscan Air

Website →

Wireless, pocket-sized dual-probe handheld. Streams live images to a smartphone app. Excellent battery life — purpose-built for rapid bedside OB and FAST-style assessments.

🔷 Clarius HD3

Website →

High-resolution wireless handheld. Multiple probe configurations available. Strong image quality in a compact form factor — suitable for OB, lung, and neonatal scanning.

Global Ultrasound Institute · GUSI

The training that closes the gap — built for providers in settings like Burkina Faso

GUSI trains physicians, nurses, midwives, and community health workers in Point-of-Care Ultrasound. Courses are designed from the ground up for providers in resource-limited settings — short, practical, competency-based, and available online or in person. Every course maps directly to the conditions killing mothers and babies during childbirth.