Nearly one in ten people in Burkina Faso have been displaced by conflict. Most worryingly, the rate of severe food insecurity has nearly doubled compared to last year, with over 600,000 people in emergency hunger levels during this lean season, warn 28 international aid organizations operating in the country. In a joint statement released today, the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) say an urgent increase in funding for humanitarian assistance is required to respond to the current situation in Burkina Faso. The latest wave of displacement in the country has pushed the total number of people forced to flee to beyond 1.9 million. Burkina Faso is a country in Africa’s Sahel region with a population of about 21 million people.
Source: Jacques BOUDA / NRC
The multiplication of violent attacks in the country has driven more people to flee between January and July 2022 than during the entire year of 2021. Meanwhile, large displacement shocks are becoming more frequent. Four years after it began, the displacement crisis in Burkina Faso remains one of the three fastest growing in the world, the NGOs say. Humanitarian monitoring on displacement indicates that 398,471 fled their homes between January and July 2022, whereas 335,723 displacements were reported in 2021 overall.
“For children, who make up for the majority of the displaced, leaving their home behind is traumatic enough but having to flee again and again while trying to survive robs families of any chance to rebuild their lives,” said Benoit Delsarte, Country Director of Save the Children.
Ousmane, 15, is one of many children facing such daunting uncertainty. He said: “I have been displaced twice. It all started the day armed men came to my village and told us to follow their instructions or leave. My parents and I first sought refuge in a nearby village. Unfortunately, shortly after that, they came there and burned down schools, markets and stores. We were forced to flee, again.”
The town of Seytenga, near the border with Niger, hosted over 12,000 displaced people when it came under attack on 11 June, killing dozens. In the following hours and days, over 30,000 people fled Seytenga and arrived in Dori, a city that had already tripled in size since the start of the crisis.
Despite immense challenges to provide shelter, water, healthcare and education among other essential services, local communities have rallied to support each other. But more humanitarian support is critically needed. Signatory organizations call for an urgent surge of financial resources. Eight months into the year, the humanitarian response has only 36 per cent of the funding required despite soaring needs.
The signatory organizations are:
- Action Contre la Faim
- ALIMA (Alliance for International Medical Action)
- CECI (Centre d’étude et de coopération internationale)
- CIAUD (Comité International pour l’Aide d’Urgence et le Développement)
- Concern Worldwide
- COOPI (Cooperazione Internazionale)
- Christian Aid
- Danish Refugee Council
- Geneva Call
- Help
- Humanité & Inclusion
- IEDA Relief (International Emergency and Development Aid)
- INTERSOS
- International Rescue Committee
- LVIA (Association Internationale Volontaires Laiques)
- Lutheran World Relief
- MĂ©decins du Monde - France
- MĂ©dicos del Mundo
- Norwegian Refugee Council
- Oxfam
- Plan International
- Première Urgence Internationale
- Save the Children
- Secours Islamique France
- Solidarités International
- Terre des Hommes
- Welthungerhilfe
- World Vision
Further information
Full text: „Burkina Faso: Almost 2 million people displaced amid worst food crisis in a decade“, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), released 5. September 2022
https://www.nrc.no/news/2022/september/burkina-faso-almost-2-million-people--now-displaced-amid-worst-food-crisis-in-a-decad/