The EU and France have agreed to fund rural development projects in Burkina Faso under separate agreements with the West African country. Five provinces in western Burkina Faso are to benefit from a five-year project under which the EU is to provide 10.01 million euro (US $9.89 million) to promote rural empowerment and economic activity for local development, strengthening the delivery of social services and encouraging sustainable management of natural resources.

Burkina Faso launched last Saturday a three-year anti-malaria initiative with an appeal to international health organisations for more funding for the seven-billion-CFA (US $1 million) programme.

Hard hit by insufficient rainfall, Burkina Faso launched on Tuesday "Operation Saaga" in which it is using two planes to drop chemicals into the clouds to induce rain. "Saaga" means rain in local languages.

A US $30-million poverty alleviation project aimed at improving agricultural output in areas near Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, was launched at the weekend by the African Development Bank (ADB) and the Burkinabe government.

An initiative aimed at financing activities that promote human rights was launched on Friday in Burkina Faso by UN Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative Christian Lemaire. "UNDP's support for such initiatives aims at enabling local action in favour of human rights for a sustainable improvement to the daily life of Burkina Faso's populations," Lemaire said at the launch of the programme in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou.