According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), tobacco kills half of its consumers. That is nearly 6 million people each year. More than 5 million of them are consumers or former consumers, and more than 600,000 are non-smokers involuntarily exposed to smoke (WHO, 2013).
Nearly 80% of the world’s billion smokers live in low or middle-income countries, where the burden of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality is the heaviest. In October 2016, the WHO alerted on the increase in tobacco consumption in Africa, particularly among young people: in Burkina Faso, 18% of men and 8% of women aged 15 and over consume a product of tobacco; among teenagers aged 13 to 15, the prevalence of smoking increases to 23% among men and 12% among women (WHO, 2013).
To raise awareness of the risks associated with tobacco consumption, Expertise France has decided to design Voussongo – “breathe better” in Mooré -, a project to fight against smoking in Burkina Faso.
Launched in August 2016, this pilot project promotes the strengthening of Burkina Faso’s tobacco control and smoking cessation policy, following WHO international standards and within the framework set by the Framework-Convention for the Fight Against Tobacco (FCTC).
Opening West Africa’s first smoking cessation centre to educate and assist smokers
This smoking cessation centre, inaugurated in February 2017 at the Ouagadougou Yalgado Ouedraogo University Hospital (CHU YO), will allow:
• Setting up smoking consultations to help smokers quit smoking;
• Providing training and information to health care teams on dealing with smokers and smoking cessation
• Conducting communication actions aimed at smokers (especially pregnant women and young people) to encourage them to address their tobacco dependence.
The Antoine Béclère Hospital (AP-HP) and the University Hospital of Clermont-Ferrand will mobilise some of their hospital practitioners as part of the commissioning of this smoking cessation unit, whose ambition is to become a reference in the sub-region by the end of the pilot project.
Read also: Opening of West Africa’s first smoking cessation centre
Supporting Burkinabe authorities in raising public awareness of the dangers of smoking
Several training and communication activities will be conducted by the Burkinabe Health Promotion Directorate, with the technical support of Expertise France.
They will be aimed at raising awareness of the smoking and non-smoking public, national health authorities and the managers and promoters of public spaces for the enforcement of the legislation passed in 2010 on the prohibition of smoking in these places.
Read also: Voussongo, a project to raise public awareness of the risks of smoking
In particular, Voussongo will support actions:
• In schools: 1.8 million students throughout the country will be sensitised.
• In the media: magazines about tobacco will be broadcast on radio and television.
