Burkina Faso: Views On Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Present a Mixed Picture in Seven Ouagadougou Partnership Countries

26 February 2026
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Komi Amewunou and Joseph Asunka

Majority support women's autonomy in marriage decisions, but not in choices about childbearing.

Key findings

  • Nearly two-thirds (63%) of citizens in the seven surveyed Ouagadougou Partnership (OP) countries believe that women should have the freedom to decide whether and when to marry. By contrast, fewer than half (42%) think women should have autonomy over decisions about the number and timing of children to have.
  • Support for women's autonomy in marriage decisions varies from 35% in Mali to 86% in Togo, while support for autonomy in reproductive decisions ranges from a low of 27% in Mali to 65% in Togo.
  • Only about four out of 10 respondents in OP countries believe that people should have access to contraceptives regardless of their marital status (44%) or their age (40%).
  • Support for contraceptive access regardless of age or marital status is strongest in Côte d'Ivoire and weakest in Mauritania.
  • One-third (34%) of respondents across the OP countries say pregnancy termination occurs "often" or "occasionally" in their communities.
  • Reported occurrence is highest in Côte d'Ivoire, where 50% of respondents say pregnancy termination happens "often" or "occasionally," and lowest in Mauritania (21%).
  • Across the seven OP countries, about six in 10 respondents (61%) believe that pregnancy termination can "always" or "sometimes" be justified when a woman's health or life is in danger. About four in 10 respondents (41%) consider pregnancy termination justifiable in cases of rape or incest, although a majority (57%) oppose this view. By contrast, pregnancy termination on grounds of economic hardship or "for any reason" is strongly opposed across OP countries.
  • Majorities of citizens in OP countries believe that school-age girls who become pregnant or have children should be allowed to continue their studies (79%) and that sexuality education should be taught in schools (65%).
  • Across the OP countries, fewer women than men have had secondary (27% vs. 33%) or post-secondary (8% vs. 16%) education. Conversely, more women (39%) than men (29%) have had no formal schooling.
  • On average across the seven OP countries, women are significantly less likely than men to be employed full time (7% v. 16%) or part time (4% vs. 8%).
  • Women in OP countries are also less likely than men to own a mobile phone (84% vs. 95%), mobile money account (61% vs. 79%), radio (36% vs. 60%), television (35% vs. 49%), car or motorcycle (12% vs. 47%), bank account (13% vs. 25%), and computer (8% vs. 15%).
  • Similarly, far fewer women than men (36% vs. 52%) report making their own decisions regarding management of household income.

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The Ouagadougou Partnership (OP) was established in 2011 following a regional conference on population, development, and family planning held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The partnership was created to accelerate progress toward voluntary, rights-based family planning in French-speaking West Africa, a region characterised by high unmet need for contraception and low modern contraceptive prevalence (Cleland, Conde-Agudelo, Peterson, Ross, & Tsui, 2012; Greene, Joshi, & Robles, 2012). It brought together nine countries - Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo - alongside donors, technical partners, and civil society organisations, united around a shared commitment to family planning.

The OP emerged as a regional platform supporting the goals of Family Planning 2020 (2016), with an emphasis on country ownership, accountability, data-driven decision making, and coordinated partner engagement. As the global family-planning agenda transitioned to FP2030, the OP expanded its focus to encompass sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including equity, adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health, gender equality, and sustainable domestic financing (FP2030, 2021). Today, the Ouagadougou Partnership aligns closely with FP2030's vision of enabling individuals to make informed, voluntary choices about contraception within resilient health systems while strengthening regional collaboration and mutual accountability (Starrs et al., 2018).

Following a decade and a half of implementation of the OP agenda, what do we know about the attitudes of citizens in the target countries on SRHR issues?

Between January 2024 and March 2025, Afrobarometer conducted surveys in seven of the nine OP countries (Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, and Togo) on public attitudes on SRHR issues as part of its Round 10 surveys covering 38 African countries. The surveys measured public attitudes regarding women's bodily autonomy, access to contraceptives, teaching of sexuality education in schools, continuing education for girls who get pregnant, and abortion. Other questions examined aspects of women's empowerment, such as education, employment, and financial autonomy, that may be relevant to progress on SRHR in the region.

The results show strong public support for women's autonomy, particularly in decisions about when to marry and how many children to have, and for teaching sexuality education in schools. Majorities also support the view that girls who become pregnant or have children should be allowed to continue their education. Opinions are more divided on access to contraceptives and abortion, with views varying widely across countries.

For results from all 38 countries, see Twum, Govender, & Asunka (2025).

Komi Amewunou Komi Amewunou is an editor at Afrobarometer.

Joseph Asunka Joseph Asunka is the chief executive officer at Afrobarometer.

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

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