The policy dialogue phase of the HIA4SD project has officially started! On 30 July 2021 the multi-stakeholder meeting took place in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

 

The first multi-stakeholder workshop in the policy phase of the HIA4SD project was held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on 30 July 2021. A broad set of high-level participants from the government, ministerial bodies, mining companies and academia discussed on how health can be promoted in industrial mining areas. The workshop received also media attention by Burkina Info, which broadcasted the event in their evening news.

The HIA4SD project team presented the findings from the first phase of the project. The presentations focused on the various impacts of mining projects on community health as well as on policy options identified in the Q-study conducted with various stakeholders from government, the private sector, and civil society from Burkina Faso.

During the discussions, different stakeholders emphasized the importance of partnerships for creating mutual benefits for communities, mining companies and the country. Representative at the National Assembly of Burkina Faso Georges NAMOANO said: “While mining projects promote local and national economic development, we should not forget that such activities can have negative impacts on the health and well-being of local communities. The results of this project underlined that steps need to be taken at the national level to guide current impact assessment practice to strengthen the health management plans of mining projects.”

These discussions were a great first step to initiate an ongoing policy dialogue in the country. As a next step, the local project team will return to the different mining sites in Burkina Faso where data was collected. There, local authorities and communities will be informed about the findings in order to extend and continue the dialogue at the local level.