Food Assistance Fact Sheet - Burkina Faso

Map of Burkina Faso
Map of Burkina Faso
February 20, 2018

Situation  

  • Climate change, limited livelihood opportunities, and recurrent environmental shocks have contributed to food insecurity and malnutrition in Burkina Faso. As a result, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) indicates that up to 276,700 children under five years of age in Burkina Faso may experience severe acute malnutrition in 2018.
  • Insecurity in northern parts of the country is prompting displacement. The UN reported more than 9,000 registered internally displaced persons (IDPs) in February in North and Sahel regions. In addition, as of December 2017 Burkina Faso hosted approximately 23,800 refugees from neighboring Mali, further straining the food security of Burkinabe host communities.
  • Normal rainfall resulted in average cereal production for the September–December 2017 main harvest, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). In January, most households had sufficient food stocks to remain at Minimal (IPC 1)* levels of food insecurity. However, below-average market supply has caused an increase in staple food prices, particularly in northern regions. As a result, FEWS NET expects that some households will likely deteriorate to Stressed (IPC 2) levels of food insecurity between April and May as they use up their own production and turn to markets for staple foods.

* The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a standardized tool that aims to classify the severity and magnitude of food insecurity. The IPC scale, which is comparable across countries, ranges from Minimal—IPC 1—to Famine—IPC 5

Response

  • USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP) supports the UN World Food Program (WFP) to provide emergency food assistance—such as general food distributions, food- and cash-for-assets activities, and supplementary feeding programs—to vulnerable Burkinabe populations and Malian refugees across Burkina Faso. FFP also supports UNICEF to provide locally procured ready-to-use therapeutic food to children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
  • Through non-governmental organization partners Catholic Relief Services and ACDI/VOCA, FFP supports longer-term efforts to strengthen food access and improve the health and nutrition status of the most vulnerable populations, including children under two years of age and pregnant and lactating women. FFP also collaborates with the USAID Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced (RISE) initiative, which aims to foster sustainable economic development, reduce malnutrition, and boost populations’ capacity to cope with shocks.

Food for Peace Contributions

Total Contributions:

  U.S. Dollars Metric Tons
Fiscal Year 2018 $2.0 million 1,018 MT
Fiscal Year 2016 $21.2 million 580 MT
Fiscal Year 2015 $24.3 million 1,490 MT

* Metric tonnage does not reflect funding for vouchers or cash transfers. 

 

Country Specific Guidance

Last updated: February 28, 2018

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