Relations between

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

are good, but has been subject to strains in the past because of the Compaoré government's past involvement in arms trading and other sanctions-breaking activity. According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 82% of Burkinabès approve of U.S. leadership, with 17% disapproving and 1% uncertain, the third-highest rating of the U.S. for any surveyed country in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Overview

In addition to regional peace and stability, U.S. interests in Burkina are to promote continued

democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an democratic transition, authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction ...

and greater respect for

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

and to encourage sustainable economic development. Although the Agency for International Development (USAID) closed its office in

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou or Wagadugu (, , , ) is the capital city of Burkina Faso, and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic centre of the nation. It is also the List of cities in Burkina Faso#Largest cities, country's largest city, wi ...

in 1995, in late May 2013 it sent a representative to re-open an Office under its Mission in Senegal. Under a combination of regional and bilateral aid programs, USAID provides approximately $50 million annually to Burkina's development through non-governmental and regional organizations. The largest is a

Food for Peace Since the 1950s, in different administrative and organizational forms, the United States' Food for Peace program has used America's agricultural surpluses to provide food assistance around the world, broaden international trade, and advance U.S. ...

school lunch program administered by

Catholic Relief Services Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Bishops of the United States, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 ...

. Burkina has been the site of several development success stories. U.S. leadership in building food security in the

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

after the 1968-74

drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

has been successful in virtually eliminating

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

, despite recurrent drought years.

River blindness Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm ''Onchocerca volvulus''. Symptoms include severe itching, bumps under the skin, and blindness. It is the second-most common cause of blindne ...

has been eliminated from the region. In both cases, the U.S. was the main donor to inter-African organizations headquartered in Ouagadougou which through sustained efforts have achieved and consolidated these gains. In 2005, Burkina Faso and the

Millennium Challenge Corporation The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency established by the U.S. Congress in 2004. It is an independent agency separate from the State Department and USAID. It provides grants to countries tha ...

(MCC) signed a $12 million Threshold Country Program to build schools and increase girls' enrollment rates. In November 2005, the Millennium Challenge Corporation selected Burkina Faso as eligible to submit a proposal for Millennium Challenge Account assistance for fiscal year 2006, making it one of only two countries eligible for threshold as well as compact funding. The Government of Burkina Faso is working closely with MCC staff to finalize its compact submission. The

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

entered Burkina Faso in 1966. The Peace Corps program was phased out in 1987, but was invited to return to Burkina Faso in 1995 as part of a newly established health project. One year later, the Peace Corps established a

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

project and in 2003, Peace Corps introduced a small enterprise development project to complement the government's poverty reduction and private sector promotional programs. In 2005, the Government of Burkina Faso asked for assistance to increase the level of girls' access to education, which later became the focus of the Millennium Challenge Corporation's Threshold Compact with Burkina Faso. All Peace Corps Volunteers, regardless of sector, are trained in how to promote awareness on

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

and

Gender and Development ''Gender & Development'' is a peer-reviewed journal published triannually by Routledge and Oxfam to provide "promote, inspire, and support development policy and practice." The editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor ...

. U.S. trade with Burkina Faso is still extremely limited — $220 million in U.S. exports and $600,000 in Burkinabé exports to the U.S. in 2004 — but investment possibilities exist, especially in the mining and communications sectors.

Principal U.S. Officials

* Ambassador — Joann M. Lockard * USAID Representative — James C. Parys

Diplomatic missions

The U.S. Embassy in Burkina Faso is located in

References

External links

History of Burkina Faso - U.S. relations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burkina Faso-United States relations

Bilateral relations of the United States

Overview

Principal U.S. Officials

Diplomatic missions

See also

References

External links