The Sites
Burkina Faso
Early Pilots
Served multiple government-run primary schools
We completed a successful two-school pilot in partnership with Catholic Relief Services and support from the USDA McGovern Dole Food for Education Program. We then launched the program in 16 schools in 2023, serving over 7,500 students over the next three years. The program shut-down in May 2025 with the end of the USDA program.
Burkina Faso Impact at a Glance
Children Served
9,782
Program Sites
50
Tablets Distributed
1,077
Hours on Tablet
57,350
Early Pilots and Evidence Building in Burkina Faso
The first phase of our work in Burkina Faso was a pre-pilot in two schools in which we validated the suitability of the delivery model and the fit of our software application in this context.
Primary School Sites
Serving children through a center-based learning program designed for grades 1 to 3
- Location: Pissila and Tibtenga, Burkina Faso
- Curriculum and Language of Instruction: Math and Literacy (in French)
- Research Focus: How well is the delivery model working? How suitable is the intervention for learners at the different grade levels?
- Type of Study: Implementation Study
State of Education in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world for both child and adult populations.
In Burkina Faso, ongoing conflict has led to the closure of 5,300 schools, disrupting the education of approximately 820,000 children. Approximately 74% of children in Burkina Faso cannot read or understand an age-appropriate text by age 10 and 82% of those enrolled in primary school are considered learning poor.
Population: 23 million
Primary pupil:teacher ratio: 40:1
Primary school completion rate: 62% for boys, 72% for girls
Out-of-school adolescents and children: 2.9 million
Adult literacy rate: 34% (2022)
Burkina Faso Partners
Catholic Relief Services
Location: Burkina Faso
Role: Implementation
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Locations: Burkina FasoGhanaLiberiaMalawiSenegalSierra LeoneTanzania
Role: Software