UNICEF in Burkina Faso

A crisis for children in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso, a nation of 22 million, half of whom are under age 18, is the epicenter of a regional security crisis in the West Africa’s Sahel region.

The country, located between Niger and Mali and north of Côte d'Ivoire, is in the midst of a difficult political transition following two military coup d'états in 2022, one in January, the other in September.

As government forces continue to battle armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State, millions of children and their families are caught in the middle. Non-state armed groups control about one-quarter of the country. Those living on the front lines are under constant threat.

Over 2 million people are displaced inside the country or fleeing across borders in search of safety. 

An additional 1 million people are completely isolated and unable to access basic social services, markets or essential supplies, as main roads are often blocked by unidentified armed groups. 

Millions of children in Burkina Faso face starvation, need clean water and health care 

The conflict and insecurity in Burkina Faso has created a massive food and malnutrition crisis.

More than 900,000 children under age 5 are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, or child wasting. A total of 2.9 million children are at risk of joining them. 

Over 830,000 people have lost access to safe drinking water.

Health care has been significantly disrupted as security issues have forced hundreds of facilities to close or curtail services including essential vaccinations — fueling a spike in measles and polio cases.

And over 6,000 schools have been forced to close — depriving over 1 million students of their right to an education and increasing their risk of dropping out. 

UNICEF estimates that 5.5 million people in Burkina Faso require humanitarian assistance, including 3.2 million children. 

Suffering in Burkina Faso is compounded by climate-driven droughts and flooding

Climate change impacts — such as droughts and floods — are further contributing to the country's suffering. The Children’s Climate Risk Index rating for Burkina Faso was 7.6 in 2021, placing the country in the high-risk category.

The impact of climate change (drought, floods) makes crises more common and harder to recover from. Crop yields are already down by 10 percent due to drought and climate change. 

UNICEF is collaborating with partners across the nation to help those trapped in hard-to-reach areas, and help those emerging from areas of conflict to recover.

How UNICEF is helping children in Burkina Faso

UNICEF collaborates with local partners in Burkina Faso to support the delivery of emergency supplies, such as medicines and safe drinking water, to those in need in these areas — sometimes by helicopter when access roads are blocked by fighting and towns are under siege. 

UNICEF is also leading efforts to increase screening for malnutrition and to procure and distribute Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a nutritious peanut paste that brings severely malnourished children back to health. UNICEF is by far the largest RUTF provider in the region.

To facilitate the process of identifying and referring children in need of emergency nutrition services, UNICEF has been training community members including parents to screen children by measuring their upper arm circumference. This has helped get thousands of children into lifesaving treatment.

“If a UNICEF nutritionist is unable to travel to a village – because they’re not trusted enough or it might be to dangerous for them – then the community health worker can bring the supplies and make sure the mothers are monitoring the nutritional status of their children,” explains UNICEF’s Chief of Emergencies for West and Central Africa Nicola Bennett. 

Aminata Zabré, a nurse in charge of the nutrition screening center at Centre de Santé de Promotion Sociale (Social Promotion Health Center) in Kaya, Burkina Faso, says these efforts are saving lives — and have become even more crucial as the number of malnourished children continues to surge. She has seen the number of children diagnosed with malnutrition surge more than 1000 percent since 2020.

When a child needs treatment, there is no time to waste.

“When I save a child, my heart is filled with joy and we sing, “C’est la joie, oh, oh!,” Zabre says. “I love children, and I dedicate a lot of my time and energy to do my work, and to make sure no child that comes to me is left unattended, even if it means I have less time for my own family.”

Reaching children and families with mental health support, protection 

UNICEF's mission in Burkina Faso covers many other urgent needs in the country, including:

• supporting health care facilities and mobile health and nutrition teams to increase access to routine child immunizations and other essential care services, such as treatment for diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria, including in crisis-affected regions
• establishing fixed and mobile Child-Friendly Spaces to provide protection and support to children in need 
• screening children to identify children in need of mental health and/or psychosocial support and connecting them to trained service professionals
• supporting a cash transfer program that helps families cover the costs of food, education, health care and other essentials

Helping kids in Burkina Faso get back to learning

Creating opportunities for kids to continue their education is another top priority. To that end, UNICEF is:

• offering non-formal education to those unable to attend formal schools by supplying learning materials

• scaling up digital and remote learning options for children displaced by conflict, and other children who are out of school

• helping schools maintain a safe and child-friendly environment

During the first four months of 2023, UNICEF helped 62 schools implement the double-shift approach to make space for displaced children; partnered to launch a radio education program to allow 630,000 out-of-school children to continue learning; and set up 150 temporary classrooms for 7,400 more students.

Expanding social services, promoting child rights

UNICEF also works with the government and other partners to expand social services and protections and to build local capacities, by:

• training local teachers, health workers, social welfare officers and other volunteers to better identify and assist children and families in crisis

• working with local village and religious leaders to change social norms and secure commitments to end child marriage, female genital mutilation and violence against children

• supporting life skills or sex education programs for adolescent girls

• supporting co-ed sessions on consequences of and alternatives to child marriage, the rights of adolescent girls and gender equality

• investing in local actors and community-based platforms — including U-Report — that help drive youth engagement and create awareness of the impact harmful practices have on young people's mental health and well-being and other pressing issues

In June 2023, a UNICEF-supported campaign called the Faso Jeunes caravan began making its way through eight of 13 regions of the country, aiming to reach at least 5 million people with information about how to prevent child malnutrition and waterborne disease, and promoting exclusive breastfeeding, birth registration and education for girls and boys.

“In times of emergency, young people need to have the knowledge and tools to protect themselves and their communities,” Sandra Lattouf, UNICEF Representative in Burkina Faso, said.

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