Beneficiaries
The SEMAFO Foundation wants to help communities in West Africa, specifically in the regions where SEMAFO or one of its subsidiaries is present. These regions include the Boucle du Mouhoun in Burkina Faso, the Kouroussa prefecture in Guinea as well as the Tillabéri region and the Niamey commune in Niger. The Foundation will offer its services mainly to cities and villages found inside the zones of SEMAFO's operating permits. This assistance territory will eventually be expanded to cities and villages in the surrounding areas.
| Burkina Faso | Guinea | Niger | Canada | |
| Population | 15,264,735 | 10,211,437 | 12,525,094 | 33,576,126 |
| Area (km2) | 274,200 | 245,857 | 1,267,000 | 9,984,670 |
| GDP per capita ($US) | 1,200 | 1,100 | 700 | 39,300 |
| HDI (rank in 2006) | 173 | 167 | 174 | 3 |
| Median age |
16.7 | 17.7 | 16.5 | 40.4 |
| Literacy rate (men) | 29.4% | 42.6% | 25.8% | 99% |
| Literacy rate (women) | 15.2% | 18.1% | 9.7% | 99% |
| Life expectancy (years) | 52.55 | 49.80 | 44.28 | 81.23 |
| Sources: The World Fact Book; CIA; UN; FAO (2003 to 2009) | ||||
The statistics presented above demonstrate how dire the needs of these West African countries are. A substantial portion of these 
populations suffer from malnutrition, lack access to safe drinking water, have little education, often do not know how to read and write and many resort to begging in order to survive. Young girls are particularly vulnerable in these regions as they are often forced to marry at a young age, do not have access to primary education and are frequently submitted to female circumcision.
The SEMAFO mining sites in these three countries are situated in particularly impoverished regions, namely the Boucle du Mouhoun in Burkina Faso, the Haute-Guinea region in Guinea and the Tillabéri region in Niger. These regions present common characteristics:
the population is mainly rural- the main economic activities are agriculture and livestock farming
- these regions are poorer than the rest of the countries
- natural resources are present but are under developed
- the education and literacy rates are below the national averages, particularly in Burkina Faso and Niger
- the birthrates are very high
- the energy coverage is very low and less than the rest of the country
Also of note within these countries, are the prevalent illnesses that perpetuate under-development. The most devastating tropical diseases are present in these three countries, namely malaria, bacterial and protozoan diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, yellow fever, dengue fever, schistosomiasis, meningococcal meningitis, as well as the recent 2008 return of the Lassa fever in Guinea. AIDS is also present in these regions, claiming thousands of victims each year.
