Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (Burkina Faso)

The security situation in Burkina Faso rapidly deteriorated in 2019, as fighting between armed groups continued. We have significantly increased our activities as the displacement crisis has worsened.

Insecurity and indiscriminate violence have forced more than one million people in Burkina Faso to leave their homes. Many now live in makeshift shelters with little access to food or water.

The number of people displaced by conflict in the country surged from around 560,000 at the end of 2019, to over one million by December 2020*. The regions of Sahel, Nord, and Centre-Nord were the most affected by insecurity. Tens of thousands of people fled their homes and moved across these regions in search of safety. This led to a significant increase in demand for basic necessities, including shelter.
Our teams assisted displaced people and host communities in these regions, but the rising insecurity posed a significant barrier for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and other humanitarian organizations attempting to deliver care.

Despite the security concerns and the COVID-19 pandemic, we increased our level of support in the country, running general and specialist health care services for people in need. We also distributed relief items such as kitchen and hygiene kits, trucked in water, and supported vaccination campaigns.

As well as opening new projects in the region of Centre-Nord, in the towns of Kaya, Pissila, Pensa, Kongoussi, and Bourzanga, we responded to various emergencies in Sahel, Centre-Nord, Nord, and Est regions. In Est, where armed groups remain a threat, we donated surgical kits to increase the capacity of Pama hospital.

In March, we sent mobile clinics to assist people fleeing violence in Nord and vaccinated against measles following an outbreak in the villages of Boromo and Dédougou in Boucle du Mouhoun region. In June, a team traveled to Silmangué in Centre-Nord to provide health care and distribute tents and other essential items to people trapped by floods and heavy rains. In July, we responded to a hepatitis E outbreak in Barsalogho, Centre-Nord region.

To respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, our teams launched short-term interventions for outpatient follow-ups, contact tracing, and awareness-raising activities in the capital, Ouagadougou, and in the second-largest city, Bobo-Dioulasso, in Hauts-Bassins region. We also offered training, support, and epidemiological surveillance in our existing projects and to other health facilities in the areas we work in.