The United States and Burkina Faso have signed a five-year health cooperation agreement designed to strengthen regional health security in the Sahel and boost Burkina Faso’s ability to manage infectious disease threats, the US Department of State said in a statement.
According to the State Department, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) forms part of the Trump Administration’s America First Global Health Strategy and focuses on building resilient, locally led health systems abroad.
Under the agreement, the State Department said it intends to provide up to $147 million over the next five years to support Burkina Faso’s efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other infectious diseases, while improving disease surveillance and outbreak-response capacity.
Burkina Faso has committed to increasing domestic health spending by $107 million, including $12 million targeted at community-health programs, digital reporting upgrades and expanded laboratory capacity.
The State Department said the MOU aims to strengthen the region’s ability to detect and respond to disease threats before they spread regionally or reach the United States.
The agreement ties existing malaria and maternal-child health programs to enhanced community-health systems, with continued support for frontline health workers.
By the end of the five-year period, Burkina Faso is expected to integrate US-funded community-health and laboratory personnel into its national health workforce, creating what the State Department described as a more resilient, country-owned system capable of protecting both Burkinabé and American populations.
The State Department said the America First Global Health Strategy has generated more than $18.56 billion in new health funding to date, including over $11.33 billion in U.S. assistance and $7.23 billion in co-investment from partner countries. As of Feb. 25, the United States has signed 17 bilateral global-health MOUs with African countries including Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda.
