Replication of the TOSTAN Programme in Burkina Faso

This 22-page synthesis document examines the process and impact of a community-based initiative carried out in an effort to improve the reproductive health and welfare of women in Burkina Faso by addressing female genital cutting (FGC). As detailed within this evaluation, Mwangaza Action replicated the Tostan human rights education programme that was carried out in Senegal - this time, within 23 villages in the Zoundwéogo Province, Burkina Faso. The evaluation explores the process and impact of the Burkina Faso process, which culminated in "a collective agreement to end an important social convention...an act of great importance in the process of behavioural change."

Excerpts from the document follow:

"...the Population Council initiated a collaboration between two NGOs [non-governmental organisations], Tostan in Senegal and Mwangaza Action in Burkina Faso, to replicate the Tostan community-based education programme for improving women’s reproductive health and contributing to the end of FGC. This programme was developed by Tostan in collaboration with UNICEF Senegal over a 15-year period and includes four modules with 64 sessions covering human rights education, the problem-solving process, hygiene and women’s health. The participants (men and women) hold discussions to analyze the problems faced by their communities and to find appropriate solutions. In Senegal the programme culminated in a series of 16 public declarations for the abandonment of FGC and early marriage in 1,271 communities, between July, 1997 and December, 2003...

The goal of the Tostan community-based education programme implemented by Mwangaza Action in Burkina Faso was to contribute to the improvement of reproductive health in Béré, Bindé and Sondré zones in the health district of Manga, Zoundwéogo Province....The specific objectives were:

a) To empower participants through education in human rights, the problem solving process, hygiene and women’s health.

b) To actively engage the populations of these zones in reproductive health issues by organizing meetings and public discussions.

To achieve these objectives and attain the expected programme outcome, both men and women would acquire:

• An understanding of human rights and how they can be applied to improve living conditions
• Skills for solving family and community problems
• Technical information relating to hygiene and disease prevention
• Knowledge about the development and functions of the human body
• Information on the methods of promoting health at each stage of the development of the human body
• Knowledge of traditional practices that are harmful to health and the strategies to end them
• Communication skills to effectively share information with other members of the community and other villages in the zone
• Motivation to undertake research in order to find common solutions to problems facing the village
• Renewed confidence in their ability to initiate positive social change.

Five aspects characterize this community-based education programme:

1. A Human Rights and responsibilities approach
2. Significant participant input in all aspects of the programme
3. Sponsorship systems, where each member of the class adopts one person from his/her community to share the information received during the class session, and the class adopts other villages
4. Facilitators become development agents: the facilitators are based in participating villages and become part of the community
5. The programme has two parts: implementation and an action-research component.

...During the implementation of the Tostan programme by Mwangaza Action, many positive changes occurred in the participating villages. The communities now promote reproductive health and human rights and hold regular clean up activities for improving public hygiene. Also, these villages are now standing up against violence towards women. The utilization of health services, antenatal care, family planning and child health have significantly increased. The programme has improved the population’s knowledge in general and changed their views on women’s roles in community development activities.

At the end of the programme, the 23 communities made a public declaration for the abandonment of the practice of FGC in front of 5,000 villagers, religious, traditional and political leaders, the media and programme managers from government, NGOs and international organizations....For the Béré and Bindé people, it was a significant turning point. They made the historic decision to end the ancestral practice and to promote the health and human rights of women and young girls. The act of taking a position in public showed that they had assumed their responsibility and are extremely courageous. They took the time to understand and, fully aware of the consequences, acted to collectively abandon the practice of FGC. The media greatly contributed to spreading the important messages of the declaration throughout the nation. This act by the Béré and Bindé people became a model for other communities in Burkina Faso who are seeking to end FGC...

The positive results from the programme led to reflection on lessons learned concerning community involvement in promoting reproductive health and development activities...[Key strategies include:]

• Involving leaders in the programme before implementation...
• [Carrying out] an immersion visit to the villages for the programme staff and facilitators...
• Living in the village to establish trust...
• Using the local language and the participants’ mother-tongue...
• Learning through experience...
• [Allowing] at least 18 months to get results...
• [Inviting] each community [to] choose those who will benefit from new knowledge...
• [Conducting] public sessions outside the classroom...
• [Using] active methods...to facilitate sessions...
• Conducting at most three class sessions per week and not more than 10 sessions in a month...
• [Drawing on] human rights education as the foundation..."