The Regional Fund for West and Central Africa provides US$18.5 million to respond to the growing humanitarian needs in Burkina Faso and Niger

Dakar, 14 December 2022 – The Regional Humanitarian Fund for West and Central Africa allocated an envelope of US$18.5 million through two reserve allocations to Burkina Faso ($9.5 million) and Niger ($9 million) to address the most critical and life-threatening needs of crisis-affected people in both countries of the Central Sahel.

“The two allocations carried out in parallel and synergy in Burkina Faso and Niger made it possible to strongly place the fund within a regional strategic approach. The resources provided will increase the response capacity of frontline responders, non-governmental organizations, to address the most emerging needs of the internally displaced people and host communities in the border regions of Burkina Faso and Niger,” said Charles Bernimolin, Head of OCHA’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa. “More specifically, the funding is critical to address the nutritional crisis in the North, Sahel, and East regions of Burkina Faso as well as to respond to people’s most emerging needs of resulting from the floods in the regions of Tahoua, Tillaberi, and Maradi in Niger. To do so, 40 emergency projects will be funded using a multisectoral and/or integrated approach to deliver a holistic response.”

The cross-border region, including Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, remains the epicentre of a rapidly expanding humanitarian crisis with unprecedented levels of armed violence and insecurity. Over 10.8 million people require humanitarian assistance in the three countries. In addition, escalating conflict and climate change, including severe floods, droughts, and loss of livelihoods, are increasingly impacting the already crisis-affected population, forcing people to seek a haven of peace elsewhere.

More specifically, Burkina Faso and Niger continue to be characterized by growing insecurity resulting in an increased number of internally displaced people. The conflict has exacerbated existing vulnerabilities and considerably reduced people’s capacities to adapt to climate change impacts. In combination with other factors, this has resulted in an acute nutritional crisis in the border regions of Nord, Sahel, and Est in Burkina Faso that may lead to famine if not urgently addressed. In Niger, on the other hand, the recent floods impacted around 200,000 already crisis-affected people in the region of Tillaberi, Maradi, and Zinder The resources made available through these two reserve allocations in Burkina Faso and Niger are a continuation of the actions initiated since June 2021, with the establishment of the Regional Humanitarian Fund for West and Central Africa to support the emergency response in the Sahel region. United Nations Nations Unies

For further information, please contact:
Sandy MAROUN, OCHA Regional Office for West and Central Africa, (+221 777 409 531), sandy.maroun@un.org
Elisabeth WILSON, OCHA Regional Office for West and Central Africa, (+221 77 569 94 86), elisabeth.wilson@un.org