Burkina Faso Appeal

The worsening security situation in Burkina Faso is marked by escalating armed conflicts and violence across the country, causing widespread displacement, civilian casualties, material losses and high levels of gender-based violence. There are increasing reports of exploitation and of grave violations against children including killing, maiming, abduction and recruitment. In addition, the use of improvised explosive devices frequently causes physical and psychological harm to civilians, including children. Increasing constraints on humanitarian access due to the widespread, protracted conflict are impeding responses in hard-to-reach areas, where access by air remains costly but is the only option to reach those in need. 

Twenty per cent of educational facilities in Burkina Faso remain closed due to insecurity, and 2 million children require urgent educational support. For children who have missed or never attended school, alternative solutions are urgently needed, e.g., accelerated learning programmes, catch-up programmes, radio education and pre-professional training courses. While 1,304 schools have reopened through community efforts, significant support is still required to ensure educational continuity and to provide safe, adequate learning conditions for displaced and vulnerable children.

The humanitarian needs analysis for 2025 estimates that violence and insecurity have deprived 2.8 million people, including 1.7 million children, of their right to access water. Climate change-induced hazards, including flash flooding and other extreme weather events, have compounded people's challenges accessing safe water. The strain on water and sanitation infrastructure due to humanitarian crises has led to increased morbidity and mortality from waterborne diseases as as cholera and Hepatitis E. More than 17 per cent of the population in 10 affected regions is deprived of health care because health-care systems have been weakened by insecurity and violence. The dysfunction of the health-care system, combined with weak epidemiological surveillance at all levels, has led to the re-emergence of preventable diseases, including cholera and measles. The compounded effects of the security crisis, the weakened health system, lack of access to sanitation, low access to drinking water and the disruption of markets and livelihood activities have resulted in more than 1.3 million people requiring nutritional support, with an increase in global acute malnutrition across the country.

UNICEF will continue to foster localization – reaching more local organizations, and boosting capacities of local suppliers – to help ensure access to services close to affected communities. We will also focus on strengthening community resilience and sustainability through community-based approaches and a mobile strategy in hard-to-reach areas to improve access to services for children and families in need. Additionally, UNICEF will continue to provide technical support to government institutions at the central and regional levels. 

To address people's challenges accessing basic health care in areas with high insecurity and in other locations also affected by crises, UNICEF will support continuity of services by strengthening primary health care, surveillance and early detection as well as health system resilience. UNICEF will support the efforts of the Government and other partners to deliver life-saving nutrition services for the prevention and treatment of all forms of malnutrition in children under age 5 years and in pregnant women. The nutrition programme will expand to include the use of alternative approaches for treating severe wasting in communities under blockade.

In the WASH sector, UNICEF will work to strengthen the capacity of water utility authorities to ensure the provision of safe drinking water, and also focus on reducing vulnerabilities to water-related risks and ensuring access to WASH services during emergencies. Mental health and psychosocial support services will be integrated into all dimensions of child protection programming and into other sectoral responses to support protection and security of children and adolescents. Effective case management and the establishmentor rehabilitation of accessible and child-friendly spaces, as well as reintegration of children associated with armed forces/groups, will be critical programme components. Community awareness campaigns will educate children and families on the risks of explosive ordnance. Interventions to prevent and mitigate the risk of gender-based violence and support survivors will also be a priority, along with protection from sexual exploitation and abuse.

UNICEF will enhance children's access to education by strengthening the capacity of the education system to deliver quality learning in formal and non-formal settings through use of varied instruction modalities (e.g., in-person and radio programming). Education interventions will include psychosocial components in line with the Safe Schools approach. Social protection programmes will be integrated into the humanitarian response. Since cash transfers have been suspended in Burkina Faso since late 2023, UNICEF is using alternative consumption supports, including school grant subsidies and economic grant supports.