Dr. Mariam Ouédraogo

Dr. Mariam Ouédraogo is a hematologist at Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Yalgado Ouédraogo (CHU-YO) in Ouagadougou — Burkina Faso's largest teaching hospital and the country's primary referral center for hematological diseases. With 12 years of hematology practice, she provides specialist care for one of the most challenging disease profiles in sub-Saharan West Africa.

Sickle cell disease is highly prevalent in Burkina Faso, affecting an estimated 1–2% of the population — one of the highest rates globally. Dr. Ouédraogo's practice is deeply shaped by this reality: she manages patients from childhood through adulthood with sickle cell crises, chronic complications, and long-term disease management. She runs the CHU-YO sickle cell disease clinic and has participated in neonatal screening programs for hemoglobinopathies.

Beyond sickle cell disease, malaria-related severe anemia — particularly in children — generates significant hematological consultation needs. Dr. Ouédraogo also manages nutritional anemias, lymphomas, leukemias, and coagulation disorders within the constraints of a resource-limited healthcare environment. She trained in France at the Faculté de Médecine de Bordeaux, gaining hematology specialty training that she has applied to the West African disease context on returning to Burkina Faso.

Dr. Ouédraogo completed her Doctorat en Médecine at the Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo in Ouagadougou — Burkina Faso's national university and the country's primary medical training institution. She was awarded a scholarship to pursue specialist training in France, completing her DES (Diplôme d'Études Spécialisées) in Hématologie at the Faculté de Médecine de Bordeaux — one of France's leading medical faculties with strong West African academic ties through historical Francophone cooperation programs.

She also holds a Diplôme Universitaire en Drépanocytologie (sickle cell disease specialist diploma) and has participated in research programs through the Réseau de Recherche sur la Drépanocytose en Afrique (RODA). She is an active member of the Société Africaine d'Hématologie et de Transfusion Sanguine.

Dr. Ouédraogo's hematological expertise is shaped by the disease burden most relevant to West Africa. Sickle cell disease management is her primary clinical focus: she manages acute painful crises, acute chest syndrome, splenic sequestration, stroke in sickle cell patients, and long-term complications including avascular necrosis and nephropathy. She coordinates hydroxyurea therapy and blood transfusion programs for eligible patients.

She performs bone marrow aspiration and biopsy for the diagnosis of hematological malignancies and aplastic anemia. For transfusion medicine, she manages complex transfusion needs including exchange transfusion for sickle cell crisis. She diagnoses and manages lymphomas and leukemias within the available chemotherapy resources at CHU-YO. Hemoglobin electrophoresis for hemoglobinopathy diagnosis and newborn screening programs for sickle cell disease and thalassemia are also within her practice scope.

Dr. Ouédraogo consults in French, Mooré, and Dioula — the main languages of Burkina Faso and the broader Sahelian West Africa region. CHU-YO serves patients from neighboring Mali, Niger, and Côte d'Ivoire who seek specialist hematological care in Ouagadougou. She is accessible to Francophone patients from across West Africa for sickle cell disease consultations.

For patients in the Burkinabè diaspora in France seeking guidance on managing sickle cell disease or other hematological conditions in Burkina Faso, Dr. Ouédraogo's expertise bridges French-trained and West African practice contexts. In-person consultation at CHU-YO is the primary mode of access.

Dr. Ouédraogo has been recognized within Burkina Faso's medical community for her dedicated work in sickle cell disease management at CHU-YO. She is an active participant in the Réseau de Recherche sur la Drépanocytose en Afrique (RODA) and has contributed to collaborative research on sickle cell outcomes in West Africa. She has presented at the Société Africaine d'Hématologie annual congresses and has contributed to public health awareness campaigns for sickle cell disease neonatal screening in Burkina Faso. She serves as a clinical supervisor for hematology trainees at CHU-YO.