Our actions

Despite the phenomenal progress in the last decade, education remains a major challenge in the continent. There are multiple causes: lack of basic infrastructure, water and sanitation, shortage of teachers and school material, distant location of schools and the cost of schooling. By using its resources to improve access to education and knowledge, BANK OF AFRICA Foundation contributes not only to achieving a fundamental right but also to fighting the vicious cycle of poverty.

According to the last UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report, only 22% of primary schools have electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. Access to basic sanitation and drinking water is not guaranteed in many schools. In addition to that, the worsening condition of the existing infrastructure, walls and roofs represent a threat to the students’ safety.

“My Beautiful School” is a program initiated by BOA Foundation that aims to renovate and equip severely deteriorated public schools in urban and peri-urban areas. The program was launched in the autumn of 2019 with the renovation of two public schools in the outskirts of Antananarivo in Madagascar for the benefit of 600 children. The inauguration of sanitary and hygiene facilities was marked by an awareness session on hand washing with soap. In the next phase, “My Beautiful School” program will cover the equiping of school libraries.

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In all the countries where BOA Foundation is present, poor rural and peri-urban areas severely lack school infrastructure that provides decent learning conditions for local citizens.

Since 2009, the Foundation has dedicated a significant part of its resources to building school infrastructure, and Education Centers have become one of our areas of expertise. The concept aims is to provide schools in rural areas with solid classroom and administrative blocks, and to integrate infrastructure that would make them more pleasant places (canteens, housing) and of benefit to the whole community (electricity, boreholes, benches e.t.c.). To date, BANK OF AFRICA Foundation has built more than forty Education Centers in West Africa and Madagascar.

The Foundation also builds Healthcare Centers

Access to healthcare and well-being is a fundamental human right. If it’s not provided it can have a serious impact on the lives of citizens on a daily basis. It is also a factor that can significantly affect a country’s economy in the long term.

The BANK OF AFRICA Foundation healthcare initiatives aim to improve both access to healthcare in the whole country and improve the quality of the existing care:

Each year in sub-Saharan Africa, there are about 75,000 new cases of cervical cancer and 50,000 fatalities. According to international projections, these figures could even double by 2030. The cause is the human papillomavirus (HPV) whose vaccine is not available in every area and is rarely a part of the national vaccination programs. Early screening can effectively prevent this type of cancer.

In Senegal, BANK OF AFRICA Foundation has made cancer prevention for women its priority thanks to a partnership with the Senegalese Cancer League (LISCA). The prevention program aims to equip the regional health centers and train mid-wives on the detection and treatment of pre-cancerous lesions. Since the launch of the program, 18 regional hospitals have been equipped with kits containing gynaecological beds, screening equipment, a video colposcope and cryotherapy devices. Since 2018, about 300 mid-wives have been trained yearly and more than 1,700 women are screened as part of the training, 10% of whom receive treatment for pre-cancerous lesions.

Every year on March 8th, the Foundation holds a campaign for breast and cervical cancer screening for females across the network. About 7,000 women are informed and screened yearly thanks to the mobilization of thirty volunteers in each country who are effective in providing information and do amazing work on ground.

In West Africa, there are are many regions where the population lacks adequate access to healthcare and infant and maternal mortality rates remains high. As a solution, the Foundation took action quickly by building maternity hospitals and healthcare centers to take care of future mothers and young children in rural areas. These medical facilities are created for the medical staff to operate in good conditions. They are therefore equipped with staff housing, sanitary and hygiene equipment, boreholes for the community and often, solar electrification. In 10 years, the Foundation has built more than 25 health facilities, medical centers and rural maternity centers in the sub-region.

The Foundation’s major areas of action are Education and Health. Part of the resources are allocated to actions centred on social issues that target the most disadvantaged citizens: disadvantaged children, internally displaced persons and people with disabilities.

BANK OF AFRICA Foundation’s activities centred on social issues:

The outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic in the continent in the spring of 2020 obliged most African governments to set restrictive measures with the aim of reducing the potential healthcare shock. In addition to the repercussions due to the global situation, these measures have affected more or less severely, depending on the country, the social and economic well-being of the citizens.

In order to provide emergency support to the affected populations and to reduce the socio-economic consequences of restrictive measures on the most vulnerable groups, BANK OF AFRICA Foundation took action immediately by reallocating nearly 50% of its annual budget to the fight against COVID. In total, 1.3 million EUR have been allocated to social initiatives in 7 countries. Donations of medical and health protection equipment estimated at 175,000 EUR were made to governmental and non-governmental organizations. Food assistance through the Foundation and its local partners for a total amount of 1,150,000 EUR has reached more than 88,000 persons: internally displaced people in Mali and Burkina Faso, low income families in the outskirts of Abidjan

d’Ivoire, Niamey in Niger, Diourbel and Ziguinchor in Senegal, as well as organizations providing assistance to disadvantaged children and people with disabilities in Madagascar and Benin.

Water is a major issue in the Sahel. The rainy season lasts four to six months, which leaves the remainder of the year without rain, and some landlocked countries like Burkina Faso do not have big lakes or rivers. The challenge of access to water worsens dramatically with climate change: while floods may occur, rainfall is insufficient for the rest of the year. In the Center and the North

of Benin, many municipalities are deprived of drinking water due to the terrains and the dry soil. The wells therefore dry up quickly, and drilling in rocky areas requires a lot of equipment.

AIn Burkina Faso, 18 human-powered boreholes have been constructed since 2015. In Benin, the Foundation has built 11 human-powered boreholes, 10 boreholes with water towers and solar pumps, as well as 2 high-flow productive boreholes and solar pumps. Access to drinking water through these community boreholes contributes greatly to disease prevention, and reinforces efforts to reduce inequalities, economic growth and environmental sustainability.