Attachments
CONTEXT
- Approximately 6.3 million people in Burkina Faso, or more than a quarter of the population, will require humanitarian assistance in 2024, primarily due to the effects of persistent insecurity. Deteriorating security conditions, including attacks by organized armed groups (OAGs) targeting civilians and destroying critical infrastructure, particularly in Boucle du Mouhoun, Centre-Nord, Est, Nord, and Sahel regions, continue to exacerbate humanitarian needs and generate new displacement, according to the UN.
- More than 2 million people remained internally displaced in Burkina Faso as of March 2023, including nearly 1 million people in Centre-Nord and Sahel alone, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports. Internally displaced persons, host communities, and returnees require humanitarian assistance to meet basic needs, including food, health care, protection, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services, relief actors report.
- Conflict-related displacement and disruption of livelihood activities have exacerbated food insecurity and decreased households’ access to agricultural fields, livestock, and markets, the UN reports. Widespread food insecurity is most severe in cities and towns experiencing OAG-imposed blockades, such as Soum Province’s capital city of Djibo in Sahel, which has been under blockade since February 2022. OAG-induced road closures have decreased food availability in local markets and increased staple food prices, in addition to hampering relief actors’ access to vulnerable populations. In the absence of regular access to emergency food assistance, individuals in hard-to-reach areas of the country are projected to face extreme levels of food insecurity and malnutrition through at least September 2024, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).
- Political instability—including two coups d’état in 2022 and an attempted coup d’état in September 2023—has resulted in a complex operating environment for humanitarian actors. In addition, widespread OAG-related violence has impeded relief actors from accessing areas with high humanitarian needs in sectors such as nutrition, health, and WASH, leaving populations vulnerable to diseases, including dengue fever, according to the UN.