🇧🇫Burkina FasoWest Africa
Boromo students advocate for school environment free from early pregnancies
via Lefaso.net4 min read
In Boromo, Bankui region, students are speaking out against early pregnancies in schools and their impact on girls' education. On Wednesday, April 22, 2026, they urged the "Women's Empowerment and Demographic Dividend in Sub-Saharan Africa Plus SWEDD+" project team and the educational community to create a safe, dignified, and respectful learning environment where academic success is the priority. Students from Boromo municipal high school highlighted that school should be a sanctuary, yet many girls face unwanted pregnancies due to the pursuit of easy gains, social media influence, or negative peer pressure. Pregnant students also suffer from mockery and stigmatization, affecting their mental health and sometimes leading to school dropout. To address this, students recommend that parents engage more in their daughters' sexual education and break taboos. They also requested the administration organize regular conferences with resource persons, establish listening cells and awareness committees, and create dialogue spaces on contraceptive methods. Alidou Sawadogo, the principal of Boromo municipal high school, reported six pregnancy cases for the 2025-2026 school year, with four students successfully reintegrated. The other two could not continue due to infant care or relocation. The principal noted that school dropouts are not solely due to pregnancies but also disinterest in school, early marriages, and socioeconomic difficulties. The SWEDD+ project supports the school with
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Nine teacher training institutes and schools in Burkina Faso have been equipped with computer hardware as part of the Project to strengthen teacher capacities to promote continuous and inclusive access to safe and quality education for girls in West Africa. The handover ceremony took place on April 22, 2026. The equipment includes 117 tablets, 9 projectors, 9 smartphones for teaching, 9 multifunction printers, and 9 backup hard drives. Brigitte Sawadogo/Ouédraogo, representative of the Minister of National Education, stated that these resources will enhance initial and continuous teacher training, facilitate access to diverse digital educational materials, promote interactive and innovative teaching methods, and strengthen digital inclusion. This initiative, implemented by UNESCO's International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa IICBA in six countries including Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Chad, Nigeria, and Cameroon, addresses challenges such as the shortage of qualified teachers, unequal access to education, and specific obstacles faced by girls. Saliou Sall, IICBA's senior program coordinator, emphasized that strengthening teacher capacities is crucial for improving education quality. The project is supported by the Japanese government, with Ambassador Jun Nagashima reaffirming Japan's commitment to Burkina Faso's development efforts, highlighting the indispensable role of digital tools in modern education.
Must ReadGeneral Simporé, accompanied by the hierarchy of the Defense and Security Forces FDS and the Command of the Group of Forces for the Securing of the West, visited the 2nd Military Region. He was briefed on the security situation and ongoing operations. Addressing FDS components and Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland VDP, the Minister of State conveyed congratulations and encouragement from Captain Ibrahim Traoré, President of Faso and supreme head of the national armed forces. General Simporé analyzed the current security situation and explained the root causes of the crisis affecting Burkina Faso and the Alliance of Sahel States AES. He emphasized the need for increased vigilance against imperialist strategies aiming to destabilize nations, urging troops to maintain resilience and a patriotic understanding of the stakes in the war for total sovereignty. The visit aimed to boost troop morale and reaffirm Burkina Faso's strategic vision for reclaiming its territorial integrity.
Nadia Doriane Leslie Samboré, a 24-year-old Burkinabe student specializing in health data intelligence at the University of Strasbourg, highlights the intersection of technology and medicine. She emphasizes the crucial role of data, a realization solidified during the COVID-19 pandemic, where health and political decisions relied heavily on figures like case numbers and epidemic curve projections. Samboré notes that in contexts like Burkina Faso, a lack of reliable data often hinders the ability to anticipate situations. She illustrates data's impact with malaria, where targeted actions based on reliable information have significantly reduced cases and deaths by enabling better resource allocation, such as mosquito nets and treatments. Samboré also identifies maternal health as another area where data can improve patient care and reduce risks. During an internship at a hospital in Burkina Faso, she observed challenges with data digitization due to equipment shortages and insufficient staff, alongside issues with data quality, including incomplete or inconsistent medical records. She argues that while equipment needs are urgent, reliable data is essential to prioritize resource allocation effectively. Samboré cautions against both underestimating and overestimating data, stressing that it should remain a decision-making tool, not a substitute for healthcare professionals' expertise. She shares her personal journey, including overcoming academic challenges, and aims to inspire
Must ReadAn ongoing audit at Cameroon's National Assembly has uncovered more than 150 fictitious agents identified between the cabinet and the general secretariat, according to Cameroonian news site 237online.com. This "massive anomaly" reportedly points to three decades of uninterrupted governance by the institution's president, Cavaye Yeguie Djibril 1992-2025. This discovery follows previous reports of fictitious employees in Cameroon, including 20,000 civil servants identified in 2025, resulting in an annual loss of 46 billion FCFA for the state. In 2024, the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reform announced that 1,172 public agents had been removed from the payroll, adding to two other waves that year for a total of 4,027 public agents delisted. 237online.com states that the audit reveals a system that has thrived over time, where over 150 ghost employees were registered, administratively validated, and kept in the payroll circuit without ever performing any real function. The news site expresses concern that the National Assembly, as the institution responsible for voting laws and overseeing the executive, loses credibility if it replicates the very practices it is meant to monitor. It questions how these fictitious agents could have persisted, suggesting either superficial control or neutralized results, and fears this case might also go unaddressed like previous ones.