Attachments
In Numbers
882,020 people assisted*
*Preliminary figures
USD 3.4 million cash-based transfers made
6,850 mt of food distributed
USD 103 million six-month (Oct 2023 - March 2024) net funding requirements
Operational Updates
In September, the armed conflict continued to drive a humanitarian crisis in Burkina Faso, further undermining vulnerable people’s access to food and basic services. Civilians, including women and girls, remained exposed to attacks by armed groups. Notably, on 5 September, an armed group kidnapped a dozen women who had reportedly ventured to the outskirts of the besieged town of Titao (Nord region) in search of firewood.
FEWS NET highlights that the latest rapid SMART survey revealed a deterioration in the nutritional situation, with high to very high rates of Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) in blockaded areas, especially in northern Burkina Faso. People in besieged areas such as Arbinda, Kelbo, and Sebba continue to face emergency levels of acute food insecurity (CH/IPC 4) and rely on external assistance.
Demonstrating the difficulties in ensuring the secure delivery of assistance, an armed group fired artillery shells into a residential area in Djibo while a WFP-contracted helicopter was stationed at a nearby helipad. The helicopter, its crew, and passengers were fortunately unharmed and subsequently returned safely to Ouagadougou.
However, the attack reportedly caused casualties and also damaged civilian infrastructure.
Emergency assistance and lean season response: WFP's crisis response prioritized the most acutely food-insecure people, particularly internally displaced persons (IDPs), host communities, and individuals facing acute food insecurity. Of the planned 804,000 people targeted for emergency assistance as part of WFP’s lean season response, nearly 790,800 (or 98 percent) were reached between June and September according to preliminary data.
WFP’s unconditional in-kind food or cash-based assistance reached nearly 654,000 people in September, including 15,620 Malian refugees, 392,090 IDPs, and 246,190 vulnerable people experiencing acute food insecurity caused by the lean season.
Due to ongoing access challenges in overland transport, WFP continued to use heavy-lift helicopters to deliver essential assistance to besieged towns where people are cut off from basic supplies. In September, WFP helicopters airlifted 1,000 mt of food and nutrition commodities to eight localities in the Sahel, Centre-Nord, Est and Boucle du Mouhoun regions.
The airlifted food served as a lifeline for 95,800 people, including 1,600 children aged 6-23 months and 4,570 pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls (PBWG) to prevent malnutrition.
School feeding: Through its school meal programme, WFP continued to support schoolchildren, including those displaced by the conflict. In September, WFP provided 1,460 schoolchildren with nutritious hot meals in five schools. Targeting schools with high numbers of internally displaced schoolchildren, WFP provided hot meals to 13,790 schoolchildren (50 percent girls; 56 percent IDPs) in 52 schools. This assistance was provided within the framework of remedial classes during the school holidays.
Nutrition: To treat moderate acute malnutrition (MAM), WFP provided specialized nutritious foods to 36,250 children aged 6-59 months (52 percent girls), and 27,690 PBWG. Moreover, WFP’s malnutrition prevention activity reached 20,330 children aged 6-23 months (53 percent girls) and 23,440 PBWG. In total 22,306 children aged 6-59 months were screened for malnutrition; 210 MAM and 29 severe acute malnutrition (SAM) cases were detected. Nutrition messaging from WFP reached 38,930 people (75 percent women) to raise awareness on good nutrition and proper young child and infant feeding practices.
Resilience: WFP continued its integrated resilience-building programme. In September, this involved on-site monitoring of assets (rehabilitated lands, rice fields, vegetable gardens for school canteens) created through food assistance for assets (FFA) activities. Nearly 1,700 metric tons of food, 5,000 poultry, and 900 small ruminants were distributed to 21,290 participants in exchange for their work.
Moreover, 24,500 meters of drainage ditches were cleaned, and 62 units of 45 m3 stone check-dams were built to control gully erosion. As part of smallholder agricultural and market support (SAMS) activities, 1,200 smallholder farmers were trained in the application of an aflatoxin control product, with post-distribution follow-up by technical agents to ensure proper use.