Attachments
Highlights:
- To date, some 72,100 people, including 40,376 children, have fled into Northern Côte d'Ivoire due to the deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso and Mali. Among them, 1,600 people were forcibly displaced between January and March 2025.
- During the first quarter of 2025, more than 500 school students were affected by heavy rains and strong winds, which damaged the roofs of their schools.
- UNICEF continued to work closely with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to meet humanitarian needs, including by:
- screening 17,311 children under five for wasting and treating 516 severely malnourished children among them;
- providing safe water for drinking and domestic needs for 7,000 people, including 3,441 children and delivering hygiene kits to 1,780 people;
- distributing individual learning materials to 1,539 children;
- providing access to 6,074 people, including 1,804 children and 2,500 women, to MHPSS at community level.
Situation Overview and Humanitarian Needs
The deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso, which led to an increase in the number of asylum seekers, continued in 2025. From January to March 2025, 1,600 people (928 children) crossed the border from Burkina Faso to Côte d’Ivoire, seeking asylum. As of March 2025, Côte d’Ivoire hosts an estimated 72,100 asylum-seekers from Burkina Faso and Mali, 66,016 of whom were registered by UNHCR. The majority of forcibly displaced persons from Burkina Faso and Mali who crossed into northern Côte d’Ivoire are women and children (82 per cent), while 44 per cent (around 29,215) are school-age children, and more than 14 per cent are under the age of five. Among these school-age children, only 11% have access to education. Some 23,246 of asylum-seekers are people with Special Needs, of whom 65% (15,340) are children and 41% (14,918) are women. Some 304 people live with disabilities affecting their daily lives, and a further 271 suffer from serious medical problems.
The rising number of asylum-seekers is increasing vulnerabilities for both asylum-seekers and host communities, exacerbating inequalities in access to basic services and heightening vulnerabilities, particularly for youth and women. By 2024, over 738,000 people are expected to face food insecurity, with the Bounkani and Tchologo regions seeing significant increases in food insecurity. Despite humanitarian assistance, 82% of households in both sites and host communities cannot meet basic needs, with higher rates among asylum-seekers.
A mass screening from February 24 to March 5, 2025, in Tehini Gogo identified 107 children with Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) and 6 with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), yielding a Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate of 2.3%. Continued efforts in malnutrition management and prevention are crucial.
Access to water remains a critical issue, with long waiting times and poor hygiene in affected communities. More water points are needed to improve living conditions. Despite progress in socio-economic inclusion, challenges persist, with low education enrolment and limited healthcare access. Strengthening community dialogue and joint development efforts is essential to mitigate tensions and support cohesion in host regions.
In 2024, multiple incidents occurred along the northern borders of Côte d'Ivoire with Burkina Faso, including incursions by Non-State Armed Group (NSAG) and armed forces into villages in the Téhini prefecture (Tchologo). Additional security incidents were reported in Mali’s border areas, especially in Tengrela. The unrest in Mali also triggered population displacement in the Folon region, exacerbating humanitarian needs.