Konkourona Alliance Foundation (KAFO), Inc.

Remote villages in Africa are often referred to in international initiatives as the “last mile” of

development, as most efforts focus on national and regional needs, and infrastructure development and services rarely reach villages. KAFO sees empowering villages as “the first mile,” claiming that a

country's overall development can be enhanced by investing in people, starting with educating children and improving basic health care for all citizens.

The namesake of KAFO, the village of Konkourona in Burkina Faso, is emblematic of the villages in the

Sahel region, which risk aggravating the spirals of poverty and mortality due to a lack of simple

investment in basic structures like education, health, drinking water and sanitation. Thanks to the

partnership between KAFO and the community association Mami Siara Na (MSN) created by the leaders

of Konkourona, the village becomes the first mile towards a sustainable future. KAFO mobilizes funds

and provides strategic oversight to MSN members, who are responsible for decisions about the future of the village, prioritizing projects, and supporting development efforts through physical labor and monthly dues. The result is a rural community with a core of basic services that can pave the way for wider development opportunities.

Many countries in Africa's Sahel region rank among the lowest on the United Nations Development

Program Human Development Index (2021). This situation of poverty is characterized by poor access to basic social services and the absence of universal health coverage. As a result, life expectancy at birth is very low, and maternal mortality and under-5 mortality are very high.

Sahelian countries are characterized by strong climatic variations, rapidly increasing deforestation and irregular rainfall. The impact of climate change in the region is significant, with the rate of change being the highest in the world. Competition between farmers and herders for land use increases while land fertility decreases, leading to violence among residents. The problem is exacerbated in isolated rural villages, where the lack of basic infrastructure and the lack of access to health, education and social services add to the risk of extreme poverty. In addition, there have been numerous acts of terrorism perpetrated by al-Qaeda and its affiliates, resulting in the displacement of millions of people.

Despite advances in health efforts over the past decades, epidemiological profiles remain dominated by the persistence of periodic epidemics of vaccine-preventable diseases such as acute respiratory

infections, measles, meningitis, diarrheal diseases, and illnesses. transmissible endemics such as malaria.

Countries are also experiencing a gradual increase in the burden of non-communicable diseases.

Konkourona Alliance Foundation (KAFO), Inc. was established in 2019 to help break the cycle of poverty in remote villages in the Sahel region. The founders of KAFO believe that each community should be at the heart of its own development and sustainability.