Active in Burkina Faso since 2018, Studio Yafa provides independent, professional information and spaces for dialogue on the country’s social and political life. It produces multimedia programs (radio, television and video) dedicated to young people, women and vulnerable people. Magazines and debates are produced in five languages (Mooré, Dioula, Fulfulde, Gulmancema and French) by a team of 30 journalists, translators and technicians, supported by 34 correspondents from 51 partner radio stations and two television channels across the country.
Studio Yafa’s activities are carried out in partnership with the Union Nationale de l’Audiovisuel Libre du Faso (UNALFA), MOUSSO NEWS (online media specializing in gender issues), and FASOCHECK (an association of journalists specializing in factchecking).
Key Figures 2023
449 hours of broadcasting per year
586 media professionals trained
34 % of Burkina Faso’s population reached
127,000 users on social media
80 % listener trust rate
Financial Volume
2,066,955 CHF
Sources of Fundings
• Sweden (ASDI contribution)
• Switzerland (SDC mandate)
• European Union
• United Kingdom (FCDO-CSSF)
• Switzerland (SDC programme contribution)
• France (Crisis and Support Centre)
• Czech Republic (MOFA)
• Income generated
• Fondation d’Aide à l’Enfance et au Tiers-Monde
• Fondation Madeleine
• Fagus lucida-Stiftung
GIVING A VOICE TO THE VULNERABLE
In 2023, the transitional government of Burkina Faso increased its defence budget to boost the fight against armed groups. The economic situation worsened, with an inflation rate of 14.1%, the highest in West Africa. The country has fallen to 58th place in the Reporters Sans Frontières press freedom index.
Against this backdrop, Studio Yafa aims to be at the heart of the daily lives of young people, women and the vulnerable, with a series of programmes such as “Yafa celebrates women”, “Yafa at school”, “Yafa in the fields” and slots such as “Getting dengue and measles booster jabs”. It has produced two television programmes: one promoting young people with socially responsible projects, in partnership with national broadcaster RTB; and one on accountability and citizen watch with BF1, the country’s most-watched private channel. Five Studio Yafa articles were republished by Courrier international, and two were posted on the Worldcrunch platform.
Studio Yafa’s programs are very interesting and useful. They deal with a variety of issues, such as the promotion of our cultures, national news, health, and more.
Eric Sib Sie, listener in Gaoua
Studio Yafa is seeking to increase its funding to continue its humanitarian radio programming aimed at internally displaced persons and host communities, which is unique in West Africa. Similar efforts are underway for a programme dedicated to parenthood.
To deal with false information, Studio Yafa journalists have been trained in factchecking. Training has been given to partner radio stations, as well as to women from civil society organizations, to coach them in public speaking and media techniques.
In 2024, Studio Yafa plans to set up a fact-checking unit. Media literacy initiatives will be strengthened to encourage responsible and critical use by the public of resources available online and on social networks. Journalists from the partner media will benefit from editorial courses and the creation of a unit dedicated to monitoring hate speech in the country’s 13 regions.
