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Meningitis Project Gains Added Support during January Trip to Burkina Faso
In late January 2007, I journeyed to Burkina Faso, Africa with two other
foundation board members - Terry Lierman and Stuart Showalter. We went
to meet with our meningitis project partners and to tour health facilities
in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, and in rural areas far
removed from the population center.
January 21, 2007 - Orientation
The meetings in Ouagadougou began on January 21 with an orientation
meeting with Marc LaForce, M.D., director of the Meningitis Vaccine
Project (MVP), who had traveled from his headquarters in France to be
with us. With him were Dr. M. Kader Kondé and Dr. Mamadou Djingarey,
two of the four men stationed in Burkina Faso to work full time on the
meningitis project. During the meeting, Dr. LaForce reported on the
status of the MVP's vaccine clinical trials currently being conducted
in The Gambia and Mali. We also discussed the foundation's fundraising
plans to support the pilot mass vaccination program in Burkina Faso.
January 22 - Meeting Government Officials
The following morning, accompanied by Dr. LaForce and Dr. Kondé, we began our day with a visit to the in-country headquarters for the World Health Organization (WHO). We met with the director, Dr. Amidou Baba-Moussa, who received us warmly. Dr. LaForce told him of the BBC's interest in doing a documentary on the meningitis vaccine project and of plans for a November meeting in Ouagadougou with heads of state and their health and finance ministers from 13 countries in the African meningitis belt. Dr. Baba-Moussa offered his support and asked to be kept informed about future project developments.
Our next stop was at Dr. Kader's Multi-Disease Surveillance Center where we saw his labs and watched a presentation on the project. Then it was on to the University Hospital of Ouagadougou where we visited the infectious disease area, accompanied by the staff physician in charge and saw several patients with meningitis. In one small room there were three patients in varying states of consciousness, lying on small army-style cots. They were attended by family members who sat on carpets at the foot of the bed. We were told that in the epidemic of 1996, there were so many patients that the whole wing was filled with two people to a bed, and additional patients were housed in tents on the dirt ground outside the rooms.
 We also visited with Jeanine Jackson, the American ambassador to Burkina Faso, and briefed her on our activities. She showed great interest in our project and offered her assistance and offered to make embassy support available as the project unfolds.
Then it was on to meet M. Alain Bédouma Yoda, the Minister of Health. This vibrant young man was very enthusiastic about everything we were doing. He agreed to help in any way that he could and offered to encourage support and to provide help in planning and preparation for the November meeting with country presidents.
January 23 – Visiting the Village of Obire
 The next day, our group of three headed 250 miles southwest to the remote village of Obiré in the district of Gaoua where Dr. Showalter serves as a missionary to the Kaan people who inhabit the area. We met their king while he was observing groups of men weighing cotton and again in a more formal setting at his home. We discussed the project with him and gained his support.
We also visited with the Chief of Police, the local Prefect, and the head of the local hospital and dispensary. The latter, the equivalent of a nurse practitioner, showed us around and told us about how meningitis and other diseases are managed. We learned about current immunization practices and got an idea of how our project might fit in.
Gaining Insight and Support
 While we were in Burkina Faso, we saw how people live in this poor country. Things that we take for granted, such as electricity and indoor plumbing, do not exist for most people in rural areas. Villagers live in houses made from mud bricks with straw roofs. In one of the villages that we visited, a fire swept through within weeks of our visit and left the residents homeless. Yet, these wonderful people are friendly and warm with a real sense of family and community despite the poverty, malnutrition and disease that shortens their life spans.
 It was a great trip because we made good contacts, got support, and learned more about how to implement the program. And for Terry Lierman, who had never been to Africa, the opportunity to meet the people and see the meningitis problem first hand increased his excitement about being involved with the project.
Ian Macdonald
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