Attachments
In Numbers
1.5 million people affected (OCHA Humanitarian Response Plan)
560,033 internally displaced persons (CONASUR – 9 December 2019)
Highlights
• In December 2019, WFP provided food and nutrition assistance to 404,977 food insecure people out of which 287,291 IDPs and members of host-communities.
• WFP foresees to assist 500,000 IDPs by March 2020, and to introduce cash-based transfers via mobile money to IDPs from February 2020.
• USD 87.2 million are urgently needed to cover the immediate funding requirements for its activities from February to July 2020.
• WFP Burkina Faso Humanitarian Access Strategy has been finalised. Through the implementation of this strategy and of other risk mitigation measures, WFP was able to provide assistance in Arbinda in December 2019.
Situation Update
• The security situation continues to deteriorate across all regions of Burkina Faso, resulting in additional displacements reported through the Rapid Response Mechanism. WFP’s response capacity depends on the ability to ensure that risk mitigation measures are observed to ensure safe distributions for all stakeholders involved.
• WFP’s access strategy has been finalized and is available in English and French. The objective of WFP's humanitarian access strategy in Burkina Faso is to improve and facilitate access to assistance for vulnerable people. This is a two-way humanitarian access: the affected population has the right to safe, dignified and equitable access to assistance; and WFP's activities can reach those in need safely, quickly and without hindrance. The key points of the strategy include: (i) developing an acceptance-based approach based on dialogue with beneficiaries, communities, and local authorities/actors; (ii) respect and promotion of humanitarian principles as a basis for assistance; and (iii) focus on protection measures targeting beneficiaries and communities.
• An increase in the number of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) has been observed causing the loss of many civilian lives. To familiarize WFP staff and local security personnel to this threat, an UNMAS awareness training is being conducted in WFP country office and sub-offices.
• A Programme Acceleration Workshop took place on the 9-10 January 2020 with the participation of country office, regional bureau and WFP headquarters staff. Participants discussed the way forward to further support vulnerable populations affected by the crisis. This includes: (i) introducing and subsequent scaling-up of cash-based transfers to internally-displaced people (IDPs); (ii) enhancing current SCOPE registration and data-verification mechanism targeting to register all WFP beneficiaries in accessible areas; (iii) assessing the vulnerability of IDPs, thus shifting from a status-based assistance to a vulnerability-based one; and (iv) augmenting WFP internal capacity and mobilizing additional resources to assist larger number of IDPs, members of host-communities and vulnerable people affected by the lean season. With the above context, and with prospected resources, WFP foresees to scale-up assistance to assist 500,000 IDPs and members of host-communities by March 2020, and an additional 500,000 vulnerable individuals during this year’s lean season.