Attachments
Summary of main revisions made to the Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA):
In the last week of September and first week of October, the security situation in Burkina Faso was of concern, with attacks perpetrated by armed groups, especially in the provinces of Soum and Oudalan. At field level, these attacks resulted in Burkina Faso Red Cross (BRCS) operational teams being delayed in the implementation of planned activities, as activities were slowed down and movements limited due to security risks. Activities have resumed since but there are still some restrictions in movement as it is not allowed to move after five in the afternoon. Besides this security issue, a shortage in nutritional inputs also caused additional delays in the implementation of nutrition activities. Lastly, due to slow implementation rate, a lessons-learned workshop, scheduled for late November 2017 has been delayed and postponed to early January. The workshop will analyze successes, challenges, best practices and recommendations to be captured and applied in future programs and emergency appeals.
Considering the above reasons, this operation update is being issued to request a two-month’s extension until 19 January 2018, to complete all planned activities.
A. SITUATION ANALYSIS
Description of the disaster
The DREF allocation of CHF189,679 has been released to support the Burkina Faso Red Cross Society (BRCS to respond urgently to the needs of 8,452 people or 1,409 households living in a critical food security situation in the Oudalan province precisely in the commune of Tin-Akoff. The operation targets vulnerable pockets of food insecurity where populations are particularly affected. In July, as no significant assistance had yet been provided, predictions were alarming for vulnerable households. Besides, the nutritional status of children under-five-years old was a concern, particularly in the Oudalan province, where prevalence had exceeded WHO's critical thresholds. It is important to note that the lean season gets longer when the communities cannot harvest on time because of the drought pockets. As mentioned in Action Against Hunger report, the biomass in the Sahel region, particularly in Oudalan is the poorest in the country.
The conclusions of the second session of the Comite de Prevision de la Situation Alimentaire (CPSA), held in Ouagadougou on 9-10 November 2017, indicate that pockets of Food insecurity will extend beyond October for some areas of Burkina Faso comprising Oudalan province and that without any intervention the area could face a Crisis phase in 2018. Moreover, the operation team reported the fear of the households in the field because they are forecasting difficult coming days in terms of food. The impact on nutrition in these cases are always predictable. The rate of access to drinking water for households is quite low (65 percent), which has a negative impact on food consumption and the nutritional status of households. Additionally, the food availability of livestock is generally low due to the structural deficits of natural fodder recorded in the Sahel region This situation negatively affects the physical condition of animals and the availability of their products.
Compounding to this, the heavy rainfall recorded in late July 2017 in Oudalan province plunged hundreds of people into disarray and left deep traces. Two casualties were reported, approximately 882 people (117 households) were displaced, 85 houses and 47 Latrines destroyed, 101 small ruminants washed away, eight donkeys reported missing, 18 mattresses washed away, kitchen utensils destroyed and washed away. Population displacement and insecurity aggravate the severity of food insecurity, resulting in an increased number of people in crisis and emergency situations. This is the case of households affected in the province of Oudalan.
This emergency fund was requested to respond to the identified emergency pocket and lay the groundwork to develop a four-year program through more in-depth assessments and planning. The in-depth assessment is ongoing now for longer term planning. It has been delayed for the above reasons and for the time requested to mobilize the community in the context of the fragile security.