In Burkina Faso, the modernization of the State now takes on a very concrete dimension: that of health. The Council of Ministers of September 24, 2026, adopted the bill establishing the Public Health Code, intended to replace a legal framework dating from 1994. After three decades, the health system is changing its reference point in order to better respond to current medical, technological, and social realities.
The political signal is clear. Public health is entering a new phase, with a State seeking to anticipate needs rather than merely manage emergencies. The future Code notably introduces organ donation, palliative and end-of-life care, and a public health reserve corps. These provisions give the national system tools adapted to ordinary situations as well as periods of crisis.
The reform also opens a major digital project. Personal medical records, telemedicine, e-pharmacy, a unique health identifier—several mechanisms are intended to help make the medical pathway more coherent and access to services more efficient. Community medicine is also among the orientations chosen.
This development extends a health policy that places sovereignty at the heart of public action. Burkina Faso has validated its National Health Development Strategy 2026–2030 and initiated reflection on more endogenous financing for the sector.
Within this architecture, the Public Health Code becomes a genuine instrument of projection. It sets rules capable of accompanying advances in medicine, strengthening the system’s resilience, and bringing services closer to the population.
For the government of Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the challenge is to build a more modern, more organized, and more accessible public health service. An institutional transformation that places health protection within a long-term perspective.
Moustapha KEITA
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