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Water suply in Kongoussi

Burkina Faso

Women collect drinking water at a water pump. Burkina Faso, September 2023.
© Nisma Leboul/MSF
Local communities remain the primary victims of insecurity and violence in Burkina Faso.

Living in a country plagued by armed groups, droughts, and political instability, many people in Burkina Faso struggle to access essential healthcare services and necessities. More than 2 million people are estimated to be internally displaced by violence, and in the Sahel, Est, and Boucle du Mouhoun regions of the country, entire towns are living under blockade by non-state armed groups.

We provide a range of services, all free of cost, for displaced and host communities in Burkina Faso across seven regions of the country. These include clean water distribution, sexual and reproductive healthcare, malaria treatment, and care for children with malnutrition. Our teams also respond to disease outbreaks, like 2023’s dengue fever outbreak in Hauts-Bassins region.

Humanitarian and medical activities are not spared from violence in the country. In 2023, two of our colleagues were killed while travelling in an MSF-marked vehicle in Tougan. Ongoing insecurity, and even targeted violence at health facilities, reduces people’s access to the services they desperately need. We are committed to providing assistance to people across Burkina Faso, but at times have had to suspend our activities to prioritise the safety of our staff.

Our activities in 2024 in Burkina Faso

Data and information from the International Activity Report 2024.

MSF in Burkina Faso in 2024 Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) launched numerous emergency interventions across Burkina Faso in 2024 to assist people displaced by conflict.
Burkina Faso IAR map 2024
Country map for the IAR 2024.
© MSF

In 2024, our teams worked in five regions, delivering lifesaving care to thousands of displaced people and host communities living under blockade. Our office and the facilities we support were the targets of violent attacks several times; our teams and patients were threatened or assaulted, and one staff member was fatally shot in circumstances not yet clarified. Other NGOs and Ministry of Health teams were also targeted during the year.

After numerous security incidents, we had to end our support to the thousands of people living in the blockaded town of Djibo, Sahel region, who are mainly reliant on humanitarian aid. We also closed our projects in Pama and Gorgadji, in order to redirect and adapt our response to the movement of people in these areas. As the violence forced more people to flee across the country, we launched several emergency activities in the Sahel and Est regions. 

Despite these challenges, MSF ran a range of medical activities, including basic, paediatric, and maternal healthcare, sexual and reproductive health services, and screening and treatment for malaria and malnutrition. We continued to work in Hauts-Bassins, strengthening our provision of maternal, paediatric, and emergency healthcare, as well as nutritional support. We also focused on preventing neonatal deaths by implementing strategies such as ‘zero separation’, which advocates that one parent is always present with a newborn, and creating a training centre for point-of-care ultrasound, to facilitate faster diagnosis and interventions. Our other activities in 2024 included distributing water, responding to a surge in febrile jaundice in Kaya, and supporting the local authorities' response to outbreaks of measles by providing vaccinations and medical treatment in the Centre-Nord, Sahel and Est regions. 
 

in 2024
 
BP-5 Distribution in Djibo
Burkina Faso

MSF temporarily suspends activities in Djibo, Burkina Faso due to escalating insecurity

Press Release 21 Oct 2024
 
Malnutrition emergency: mobile clinic in Ranobe
Burkina Faso

MSF marks one year since the killing of two colleagues in Tougan

Project Update 9 Feb 2024
 
Agok hospital
Burkina Faso

Malnutrition crisis grips children trapped in western Burkina Faso

Press Release 28 Nov 2023
 
BP-5 distribution in Djibo
Burkina Faso

Severe humanitarian crisis persists for people living under blockade in Djibo

Project Update 5 May 2023
 
South Sudan - MSF hospital in Agok
Burkina Faso

MSF condemns the brutal and deliberate killing of two staff in Burkina Faso

Press Release 9 Feb 2023
 
Internally displaced people in Kaya, Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso

Violence and severe supply shortages leave people across Burkina Faso in dire need

Interview 17 Oct 2022
 
Dedougou health centre
Burkina Faso

Thousands displaced after escalating violence in Boucle du Mouhoun region

Project Update 26 Aug 2022
 
Burkina Faso - Access to health INTER
Burkina Faso

Enormous needs for hundreds of thousands of people displaced by ongoing conflict and insecurity

Project Update 27 Jun 2022
 
Burkina Faso Crisis
Burkina Faso

Four things to know about the crisis in Burkina Faso

Project Update 28 Jan 2022
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4 November 2020