Food Assistance Fact Sheet - Burkina Faso

Food Security Situation  

CIA World Factbook

• Burkina Faso is classified as a least developed, low income, and food deficit country. The United Nations (UN) Development Program 2015 Human Development Index ranks Burkina Faso 183 out of 188 countries, and over 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

• The 2012 coup d’état in neighboring Mali and rebel uprising in the north displaced hundreds of thousands of Malians. An estimated 29,000 refugees remain in Burkina Faso, placing additional strain on the food security of host communities.

• Due to stable food prices, average income levels for agricultural and non-agricultural labor, and early rains, many households have been able to reconstitute their food stocks and as a result Burkina Faso is expected to remain at Minimal (IPC Phase 1) level of food insecurity through January 2017, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network.

Food Assistance Programs

• The Office of Food for Peace (FFP) targets food insecure Burkinabé and Malian refugees throughout Burkina Faso. FFP supports the UN World Food Program to respond to acute malnutrition and strengthen the resilience of vulnerable and food-insecure populations through targeted food distributions, food and cash for assets activities, supplementary feeding activities, and capacity building.

• FFP also partners with Catholic Relief Services and ACDI/VOCA to implement five year development programs with core interventions in the areas of agriculture and natural resource management, health and nutrition, and civil society strengthening. The programs focus on improving the nutritional status of the most vulnerable populations—including pregnant and lactating women and children under two—as well as improving agricultural production and productivity, and livelihoods diversification, including market linkages. Targeted food distributions, food-for-work activities, school feedings, take home rations, and trainings on nutrition, hygiene, and sanitation best practices allow households to increase their consumption of nutritious foods, enhance dietary diversity, and increase the adoption of WASH best practices.

• Through its programs, FFP collaborates with the USAID Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced (RISE) initiative.

Food for Peace Contributions

Total Contributions:

Fiscal Year 2016 Contribution Breakdown:

Food Security Situation information provided by UNDP, UNHCR, WFP and FEWS NET.
FY 2014 contribution includes $20 million in Community Development Funds (CDF)
FY 2016 contribution based on funds obligated to date

Country Specific Guidance

• Fiscal Year 2011 Burkina Faso Country Specific Guidance

• Burkina Faso Food Security Country Framework