Action Research on Community-Based Exemption from Health Care User Fees in Burkina Faso – 2007–2010

The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of this action, which, in coordination with communities and using endogenous funds, exempts indigent people from paying for front-line health services. Through a multiple-case study in 12 health centers in the same district, the aim was to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the action whose potential for success appeared to be the greatest in view of the evidence, lay knowledge and local socio-political context. Given the lack of knowledge about exemption systems, and the weakness of evaluations of the very few experiences, the evaluative component of this action-research project had a central place. Several types of evaluation were carried out: effectiveness, process, implementation, sustainability.