Health research partnership in Burkina Faso
Last updated in april 2026
Key facts about the Burkina Faso health research partnership
The Burkina Faso health research partnership primarily involves the Centre Muraz of the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) in Bobo-Dioulasso and the International Centre for Health Research (CRIS/UO) at Joseph Ki-Zerbo University in Ouagadougou.
- Core partners: Burkina Faso Ministry of Health, Centre Muraz/INSP, CRIS, PCCEI UMR 1058 Montpellier, French Embassy in Burkina Faso, ANRS MIE
- Primary actions: strengthening national and international collaborations, supporting young researchers, assisting Burkinabè teams in project applications, and enhancing Centre Muraz/INSP and CRIS capabilities
- Research priorities: HIV, viral hepatitis, human papillomavirus, tuberculosis, Covid-19, and arboviruses
In brief
Established
2001
Leadership
Dr Dramane Kania (Burkina Faso Coordinator), Prof. Nicolas Nagot (France Coordinator)
Physical hosting
Centre Muraz/INSP, Bobo-Dioulasso, and CRIS/UO, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Partnership origins
Franco-Burkinabè collaborations in health research began in 1999. The partnership was formalized in 2001 and officially recognized in 2006 through a framework agreement between ANRS and the Burkina Faso Ministry of Health, centered around the Centre Muraz in Bobo-Dioulasso.
Collaboration expanded to include the International Centre for Health Research (CRIS/UO) at Joseph Ki-Zerbo University (UJKZ) in Ouagadougou.
In recent years, the partnership’s scope has broadened to include emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, addressing public health and scientific challenges in Burkina Faso and the region through a One Health approach within a global health context.
Centre Muraz and CRIS
Centre Muraz, located in Bobo-Dioulasso, operates as a technical division of the National Institute of Public Health (INSP). Its missions include research, training, and expertise across four key areas: infectious diseases, epidemic-prone diseases, sexual and reproductive health, and health systems policy and management. The Centre boasts an advanced laboratory for infectious disease diagnosis and innovation, alongside a methodological and data management research center.
The International Centre for Health Research (CRIS/UO) is a research and training hub within Joseph Ki-Zerbo University (UJKZ) in Ouagadougou. It aims to establish an international research platform and train young health professionals in medical research. Research activities focus on HIV/AIDS and global health challenges.
Timeline of the Franco-Burkinabè collaboration
Partnership governance and collaborators
Burkina Faso Coordinator: Dr. Dramane Kania
Centre Muraz/INSP, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
France Coordinator: Prof. Nicolas Nagot
PCCEI/UMR1058, Inserm, EFS, University of Montpellier, University of the Antilles, France
Deputy Coordinator: Dr. Désiré Dahourou
Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
Honorary Coordinator: Prof. Nicolas Meda
CRIS/UO, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
The partnership was previously coordinated by Prof. Nicolas Meda (Burkina Faso Coordinator) and Prof. Philippe Van de Perre (France Coordinator).
Collaborators (non-exhaustive list)
Numerous partners, including universities, NGOs, ministries, research institutions, healthcare structures, and community actors, collaborate with Centre Muraz and CRIS through this partnership. Additional institutional, financial, or project-specific partnerships also exist.
Key partnership activities
- Collaboration with patient associations, health system actors, and policymakers from the outset of new research projects to facilitate knowledge production and transfer
- Scientific animation: organizing exchange days with research and health actors on Burkina Faso and regional priorities
- Expanding and strengthening collaborations at national (IRSS Nanoro, Nouna, CNRFP, CORUS, LCR, ONSP, etc.) and regional/international levels with ANRS MIE International Network actors, WHO, and others
- Continuing training and capacity building for young researchers and research teams (project writing, policy notes, knowledge transfer, article writing, etc.)
- Supporting Burkinabè research teams in responding to project calls and implementing research initiatives
- Enhancing Centre Muraz/INSP’s technical capabilities to maintain high-quality research and improving CRIS infrastructure to provide adequate research coordination space
Evolving research priorities
HIV, STIs, and co-infections with tuberculosis and viral hepatitis research
Since the 1990s, Franco-Burkinabè health research collaboration has focused on HIV prevention, diagnosis, and management.
Therapeutic trials have been and continue to be conducted on mother-to-child transmission prevention (Kesho-Bora, Promise PEP, PREVENIR PEV, TRI MOM); treatment adherence and antiretroviral therapies (THILAO, MOBIDIP, 2LADY); and tuberculosis diagnosis in children living with HIV (PAANTHER).
Research on HIV and STI prevention in key populations (Yérelon cohorts for sex workers and CohMSM for MSM) has evaluated the feasibility and operational effectiveness of behavioral and biomedical strategies.
Social sciences have explored the experiences of patients and access to care for women living with HIV.
Biological research has analyzed HIV transmission (sexual and mother-to-child), treatment resistance, viral genetic diversity, and the impact of HIV-tuberculosis co-infection.
Studies on viral hepatitis have revealed high HBV and HCV prevalence with heterogeneous distribution in the country, proposing specific intervention strategies (REVERSO).
Emerging infectious disease research
More recent research axes have emerged, including arboviruses (ARBOFASO) and Covid-19, with studies on treatment evaluation (COVERAGE Africa), diagnostics, virus comprehension, and impact using a One Health approach.
Current research priorities
Research activities led by the Burkina Faso partnership’s key actors and collaborators focus on HIV, viral hepatitis, human papillomavirus (HPV), tuberculosis, Covid-19, and arboviruses. Various research domains are engaged, including innovation, diagnostics, clinical research, fundamental research, public health, and social sciences. Specifically:
- Clinical research: therapeutic simplification strategies, cervical cancer diagnosis and management in people living with HIV, treatment of emerging diseases (Covid-19), diagnostic innovation (HBV)
- HIV across the lifespan: prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, adolescence and transition to adulthood, aging
- Vulnerable populations: MSM*, sex workers, street children, drug users
- Hepatitis: epidemiology of hepatitis C and E, environmental effects (HBV and aflatoxin)
- Quadruple elimination of mother-to-child transmission (HIV, HBV, syphilis, Chagas disease)
- Emerging infectious diseases: dengue and other arboviruses, Covid-19, and epidemic preparedness
* men who have sex with men
** pre-exposure prophylaxis
*** sexually transmitted infections
Impact of the Burkina Faso partnership
The partnership has strengthened Centre Muraz’s research capabilities and those of other Burkinabè research teams, fostering scientific innovation, young researcher training, health policy development, and community engagement.
The partnership has bolstered Centre Muraz, leading to its national recognition and integration in 2018 as a technical research division of the National Institute of Public Health (INSP). ANRS MIE supported its equipment, including cohort hosting facilities, a P2 molecular virology laboratory, an immunology laboratory, and a data processing center.
In 2021, thanks to the partnership, Centre Muraz joined the AFROSCREEN network for SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogen variant sequencing, establishing a genomics platform and acquiring an Illumina MiniSeq sequencer.
The partnership also facilitated the creation of CRIS/UO, enhancing research coordination in Ouagadougou.
The Burkina Faso partnership collaborates with Nazi Boni University (UNB) and UJKZ to support master’s and PhD student training. This support has fostered the emergence of young researchers who are key drivers of infectious disease research and policy guidance in Burkina Faso.
Associated researchers participate in various national and international technical groups to develop recommendations. These include national committees for SARS-CoV-2 variant surveillance and HIV testing algorithm validation, as well as WHO reflection groups on HIV/hepatitis/STI therapeutics and breastfeeding.
The partnership also supports associations and community committees combating HIV and viral hepatitis in Burkina Faso. These actors contribute to scientific animation and research projects, enabling initiatives targeting vulnerable populations.
Despite geopolitical challenges, the partnership continues to unite research actors, valorizing conducted research and exploring new opportunities for Burkina Faso and the region.
