Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
- Children in Burkina Faso continue to experience a complex humanitarian crisis driven by displacement, food insecurity and recurrent climate shocks. Needs remain high due to heightened vulnerabilities of displaced people, returnees and host communities. As of early 2026, 4.5 million people, including 2.9 million children, require urgent assistance.
- UNICEF will provide integrated, life‑saving nutrition, health, education and WASH services to vulnerable and displaced populations, with a strong focus on hard‑to‑reach areas. The strategy strengthens early detection and treatment of malnutrition; maintains essential healthcare services; expands access to social protection, psychosocial support and education services; and improves water, sanitation and hygiene systems in communities, schools and health facilities.
- This 2026 Humanitarian Action for Children appeal for Burkina faso seeks to raise $168.9 million to deliver life-saving interventions in critical sectors: health, nutrition, WASH, education and protection for 2.9 million people, including 2.5 million children. The appeal also supports anticipatory actions such as pre-positioning of supplies; early warning systems; and capacity building.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION AND NEEDS
Displacement, food insecurity and recurrent climate shocks continue to cause high levels of humanitarian need among children in Burkina Faso. Although the number of internal displacements in early 2026 had dropped by around 6 per cent compared with 2025, chronic needs persist due to the heightened vulnerabilities of internally displaced persons, returnees and host communities.7 Many require basic necessities, including food, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as well as health, nutrition and child protection services. In total, 4.5 million people, including 2.9 million children, require humanitarian assistance in 2026.8
According to the 2026 nutrition cluster analysis, more than 1.3 million children under age 5 years and pregnant and breastfeeding women need nutrition assistance, with the highest severity of need (Phase 3/4) in the Liptako, Soum, Koulsé, Goulmou, Tapoa, Sirba, Yaadga, Bankui and Sourou regions. Further, already fragile local health systems are coming under additional strain as vulnerable internally displaced people and returnee populations seek increased nutrition support.
Persistent insecurity, mass displacement and a lack of functional infrastructure continue to deprive hundreds of thousands of children of their right to education. In 2025, nearly 1.9 million children9 – half of them girls and 15 per cent with disabilities – required urgent educational assistance. Prolonged school closures,10 relocation of facilities and overcrowded classrooms in host communities severely compromise the continuity and quality of learning. The latest available data (from March 2024) showed that more than 5,300 schools (20 per cent of educational infrastructure) were non-functional, affecting more than 818,000 children and 24,300 teachers.11 This heightens the risks of dropout and exposure to violence, particularly for internally displaced and returnee children.12
Furthermore, attacks on essential social services infrastructure are depriving people of crucial services such as healthcare, education and access to safe water. Public health risks persist. Epidemic outbreaks, notably of meningitis and dengue fever, are recurrent threats, straining fragile health systems. The ongoing deterioration of water supply systems from repeated incidents of vandalism and damage to water infrastructure, combined with population movements and increased demand on limited services, has significantly reduced access to safe drinking water in many areas. Overcrowded living conditions in displacement settings, insufficient sanitation facilities and lack of adequate hygiene materials heighten the risk of waterborne and infectious diseases, which in turn strain health services even more. Women and girls are particularly affected: they are at increased protection risk associated with water collection, and in addition to inadequate sanitation infrastructure, they have limited access to menstrual hygiene supplies.