News & Analysis: Burkina Faso
“Under the 18th replenishment of IDA, which ended in June, the World Bank has more than doubled its support in fragile and conflict-affected situations over three years, from $10.2 billion to $23 billion. Thanks to this, over 38 million people have accessed essential health services, more than 15 million children have been immunized, and over 17 million people have benefitted from social safety net programs.”
“The number of people in need of emergency food aid in Burkina Faso has tripled to more than 3.2 million – some 11,000 of whom are suffering from ‘catastrophe’ levels of hunger – as the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic hits a country already engulfed by violence.”
“This year, the coronavirus pandemic has forced governments to grapple with difficult questions regarding lockdowns, contact tracing and the provision of emergency financial assistance to citizens now without work. In developing countries, these hardships are magnified with the World Bank estimating that remittances – money transfers sent from foreign workers to their home countries – to low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are projected to fall by 19.7 percent (from $554 billion in 2019 to $445 billion in 2020). Considering the significant role that remittances play in alleviating poverty and improving nutrition, many governments have turned to mobile cash transfers for vulnerable citizens to use while minimising COVID-19 exposure.”
“Public health, the wellbeing of refugees and the host communities in the Sahel are at the heart of the latest tripartite agreement between the African Development Bank, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and the G5 Sahel signed today. The agreement enables a critical $20 million COVID-19 response across the five countries of the Sahel region.”
“The number of displaced people seeking safety in Burkina Faso’s Center-North region has almost doubled in six months to 386,000 as a result of growing insecurity and violence in the region. Many have no option but to live in improvised shelters in remote areas, without basic services and exposed to the elements as the rainy season begins.”
“As jihadist-linked violence surges in Burkina Faso, children are facing particularly severe hardships: more than half of the roughly one million Burkinabe now displaced across the country are 18 and under, and many have been forced out of school by attacks and threats from extremists.”
“Borderlands are especially vulnerable to the negative impacts of disease control measures, in particular those that restrict movement and hinder informal trade. In the haste to combat the disease, these measures are not always justified by an analysis of the trade-offs between protecting public health and ensuring that people are able to meet their basic food and protection needs.”
“Three months after the first case of COVID-19 was detected in sub-Saharan Africa, the region has made progress in tackling the virus. Many countries implemented lockdowns and key public health measures early and these appear to have helped slow down the spread of the disease. However, there are concerns that if these measures are relaxed too quickly, COVID-19 cases could start increasing rapidly.”
“Economies and livelihoods have been heavily affected as the demand for Africa’s commodities has fallen and tourism has declined sharply. Remittances — which can account for more than 10% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — are also drying up.”
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