Burkina Faso Appeal

Displacement, food insecurity and recurrent climate shocks continue to cause high levels of humanitarian need among children in Burkina Faso. Although the number of internal displacements in early 2026 had dropped by around 6 per cent compared with 2025, chronic needs persist due to the heightened vulnerabilities of internally displaced persons, returnees and host communities. Many require basic necessities, including food, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as well as health, nutrition and child protection services. In total, 4.5 million people, including 2.9 million children, require humanitarian assistance in 2026.

According to the 2026 nutrition cluster analysis, more than 1.3 million children under age 5 years and pregnant and breastfeeding women need nutrition assistance, with the highest severity of need (Phase 3/4) in the Liptako, Soum, Koulsé, Goulmou, Tapoa, Sirba, Yaadga, Bankui and Sourou regions. Further, already fragile local health systems are coming under additional strain as vulnerable internally displaced people and returnee populations seek increased nutrition support. 

Persistent insecurity, mass displacement and a lack of functional infrastructure continue to deprive hundreds of thousands of children of their right to education. In 2025, nearly 1.9 million children – half of them girls and 15 per cent with disabilities – required urgent educational assistance. Prolonged school closures, relocation of facilities and overcrowded classrooms in host communities severely compromise the continuity and quality of learning. The latest available data (from March 2024) showed that more than 5,300 schools (20 per cent of educational infrastructure) were non-functional, affecting more than 818,000 children and 24,300 teachers. This heightens the risks of dropout and exposure to violence, particularly for internally displaced and returnee children.

Furthermore, attacks on essential social services infrastructure are depriving people of crucial services such as healthcare, education and access to safe water. Public health risks persist. Epidemic outbreaks, notably of meningitis and dengue fever, are recurrent threats, straining fragile health systems. The ongoing deterioration of water supply systems from repeated incidents of vandalism and damage to water infrastructure, combined with population movements and increased demand on limited services, has significantly reduced access to safe drinking water in many areas. Overcrowded living conditions in displacement settings, insufficient sanitation facilities and lack of adequate hygiene materials heighten the risk of waterborne and infectious diseases, which in turn strain health services even more. Women and girls are particularly affected: they are at increased protection risk associated with water collection, and in addition to inadequate sanitation infrastructure, they have limited access to menstrual hygiene supplies.

UNICEF will address humanitarian needs in Burkina Faso in line with the Core Commitments for Children and the humanitarian reset, and based on national context and the level of humanitarian access to affected populations. 

The response will leverage existing coordination platforms with national and regional authorities, while ensuring meaningful community engagement and collaboration with non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations. UNICEF will prioritize anticipatory actions such as pre-positioning of supplies and use of early warning systems, alongside building the capacity of national and local partners to implement rapid emergency responses. 

UNICEF will deliver life-saving and essential nutrition services to prevent and address all forms of malnutrition among children under age 5 and pregnant and lactating women. To do this, strengthening early identification and referral through the family/mother MUAC approach will be prioritized to ensure uninterrupted treatment for severe wasting through facility-based and community-based management of acute malnutrition, particularly in areas with limited access. Key goals are to prevent the deterioration of nutritional status of vulnerable groups and to bolster their resilience. UNICEF will strengthen the supply chain for nutrition commodities and adapt operational approaches to ensure delivery to populations in remote or inaccessible areas. 

The health strategy aims to sustain access to essential and life-saving services for children, women and vulnerable populations. In the context of insecurity, mass displacement and disrupted health services, UNICEF will ensure continuity of primary healthcare by supporting outreach health services, reopening health facilities, strengthening referral systems and improving financial accessibility. A key focus will be reaching hard-to-access areas via mobile and community-based delivery. This approach targets internally displaced people, host communities and returnees who face significant barriers in accessing essential health services.

UNICEF will also strengthen access for children, adolescents and their caregivers to quality mental health and psychosocial support services, ensuring that needs are identified, referred to and addressed through age-, gender- and vulnerability-sensitive services.

In line with the Second National Education in Emergencies Strategy (2026–2030), UNICEF’s priorities include establishing temporary learning spaces; rehabilitating and equipping reopened schools; distributing school kits; and supporting teacher training through the cascade approach of the Ministry of National Education, Literacy and Promotion of National Languages. Training will focus on key education-in-emergency themes, including mine risk awareness, in- class psychosocial support and alternative (double-shift) classroom management.

UNICEF will also support delivery of integrated WASH interventions: upgrading water systems, providing emergency water, improving sanitation, promoting hygiene, distributing hygiene and dignity kits, strengthening local management, supporting WASH in schools and health facilities and for malnourished children using flexible operational approaches.