In 1983, Thomas Sankara became President of Burkina Faso. His short 4 years in power in Burkina Faso ЁЯЗзЁЯЗл before being overthrown in a French & CIA-backed coup:
Vaccinated 2.5 million children against meningitis, yellow fever and measles in a matter of weeks.
He initiated a nation-wide literacy campaign, increasing the literacy rate from 13% in 1983 to 73% in 1987.
тАУ He planted over 10 million trees to prevent desertification
тАУ He built roads and a railway to tie the nation together, without foreign aid.
He appointed women to high governmental positions, encouraged them to work, recruited them into the military, and granted pregnancy leave during education.
тАУ He outlawed female genital mutilation, forced marriages and polygamy in support of WomenтАЩs rights.
He redistributed land from the feudal landlords and gave it directly to the peasants. Wheat production rose in three years from 1700 kg per hectare to 3800 kg per hectare, making the country food self-sufficient.
