Speaker
Description
Authors: Anselme Simeon Sanou (UNODC), Karen Peters (UNODC), Wadih Maalouf (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
Background: In settings where structural or systemic barriers to service delivery exist as is the case in certain parts of Burkina Faso, where access to treatment services and prevention infrastructure remains limited, scalable, evidence-based prevention is critical. To address these gaps, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is supporting a coordinated approach to prevention that begins at home and continues through the school system. This poster presents the implementation and evaluation of two complementary programmes: Strong Families, a family-based intervention for caregivers and children aged 8–15, and Lions Quest, a school-based social-emotional learning and life skills programme for primary and secondary students.
Methods: Between 2023 and 2024, the Strong Families programme was implemented with 82 families across multiple sites in Burkina Faso. Families participated in structured sessions aimed at strengthening parenting skills, communication, and child resilience. Pre-, post-, and 6-week follow-up evaluations were conducted using the Family Demographic Questionnaire (FDQ), Parenting and Family Adjustment Scales (PAFAS), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-R).
In parallel, preparations began for national rollout of Lions Quest programmes: Skills for Growing (new to Burkina Faso) and Skills for Action (previously introduced in some schools). Manual adaptation, school selection, and teacher training are scheduled for 2025, alongside the development of a feasibility and outcome evaluation framework.
Results: Preliminary data from Strong Families show statistically significant improvements in child behaviour, parenting practices, and resilience indicators across all measurement tools and time points. The rollout of Lions Quest represents the next step in sustaining these gains through structured, school-based learning environments.
Discussion: Burkina Faso’s prevention strategy illustrates the value of aligning interventions across developmental stages—from the family to the classroom. The integration of Strong Families and Lions Quest offers a scalable, evidence-based model for building lifelong protective factors and addressing drug use risk at multiple ecological levels. Continued inter-sectoral collaboration and rigorous evaluation will be key to embedding this approach into national systems.
| Conflict of interest | All authors are affiliated with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the organization responsible for implementing the programmes described. No other conflicts of interest are declared. |
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