Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso: Food Security Crisis Emergency Plan of Action MDRBF014

Attachments

A. Analyse of the situation

Description of the disaster

The DREF allocation of CHF189,679 is intended to support the Burkina Faso Red Cross respond urgently to the needs of 8,452 people living in a critical food security situation in the province of Oudalan, more precisely in the commune of Tin-Akoff. The food assistance targets vulnerable pockets where populations are particularly affected. As there has been no significant assistance provided until the end of July, the situation of the already vulnerable households is expected to deteriorate during the lean season from July to September. This year is expected to be critical with negative nutritional implications especially on pregnant and lactating women and on children. In the Sahel region of Burkina Faso, the nutritional status of children under the age of five remains a concern, particularly in the Oudalan province, where prevalence has exceeded WHO's critical thresholds. The rate of access to drinking water for households is quite low (65 percent), which has a negative impact on food consumption and the nutritional status of households.

The food availability of livestock is generally low due to the structural deficits of natural fodder recorded in the Sahel regions. In this region, the use of agro-industrial by-products (SPAI) does not compensate for the forage deficit. In addition, the available fodder has been severely degraded for the current period (March to May 2017) in the other regions and currently there is no satisfaction of the food requirement of the national herd. This situation negatively affects the physical condition of animals and the availability of their products.

Analysis of the current and projected food situation from August to September shows the province (Oudalan) in a food crisis situation (phase 3).

Furthermore, the heavy rainfall recorded late July in the province of Oudalan, plunged hundreds of people into disarray and left deep traces. This situation indicates that there have been two casualties.
Approximately 882 people (117 households) were displaced, 85 houses and 47 Latrines destroyed, 101 small ruminants washed away, eight donkeys reported missing, 18 mattresses washed away, unusable sleeping facilities, kitchen utensils destroyed and washed away. The victims from the affected locations are relocated to foster families whose capacity of welcoming more relatives remain inadequate. To alleviate the suffering, the Burkina Faso Red Cross, with the support of the Spanish Red Cross, organized a non-food items distribution to 112 households.

These non-food items (NFIs) consisted mainly of mats, blankets, cooking utensils, tarpaulins, jerry cans, buckets, soap, sanitary towels for women. Problems related to water, hygiene, sanitation, and habitat remain.

Currently, with the lean season, some provinces of the country observe a deterioration in food and nutritional security and depletion of food stocks. Population displacement and insecurity aggravate the severity of food insecurity, resulting in an increased number of people in crisis and emergency situations. This is the case of households affected in the province of Oudalan According to the country's Burkina Faso harmonized framework, 257,238 people are expected to be food and nutrition insecure in nine regions. In relation to this, the National Society has targeted 10 percent (25,723 people affected) of these food-insecure people for assistance, during the lean period from July to September 2017. The Emergency Fund (DREF) targets 8,452 people (part of 25,723) for direct food assistance during September, which represents 33 percent of the total target. While the DREF will help respond to the emergency, further funding is sought to attend the needs of the total target of 25,723 people.

This emergency fund was requested to respond to the identified emergency pocket and lay the groundwork to develop a four-year program through more in-depth assessments and sound planning. While implementing the emergency response through this DREF, other funding mechanisms are considered to ensure continuity of the longer-term support which would be based on a preparedness and resilience approach. The long-term program will be integrated into the IFRC planning program. In fact, the Burkina Faso Red Cross is in line with the dynamics of the Movement's partners (IFRC, ICRC) and other partners in the Food Security cluster to provide an emergency response to households suffering from food and nutrition insecurity on the one hand and to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable households and the capacity of national actors to cope with shocks. These two objectives are aimed at addressing an integrated response including immediate food assistance during the lean season and, where conditions are favourable, strengthening or restoring livelihoods. Resilience is an integral part of this approach, as it provides an opportunity for affected populations to resist future shocks.