The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated $5.9 million to support the rapid response to urgent humanitarian needs in Burkina Faso, particularly those of displaced people. This allocation comes amid the ongoing global funding crisis, and Burkina Faso being one of the most neglected displacement crises worldwide driven by insecurity and climate-related factors, such as drought and flooding.
In 2025, 5.9 million people in Burkina Faso — including 3 million children — require humanitarian assistance and protection. More than 2 million people are internally displaced, including 1.1 million children. Between June and August, approximately 2.3 million people in the country face acute food insecurity.
According to an early warning report released by the UN this week, Burkina Faso is among the world’s 13 most critical hunger hotspots, where a deterioration of acute food insecurity is expected from June to October 2025.
On Saturday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) explained that the strategic CERF funding will enable UN agencies, in close coordination with government authorities and humanitarian partners, to provide lifesaving assistance in areas such as food security, health, nutrition, water, hygiene, sanitation, shelter, and essential items.
The funding allocation will prioritize the most vulnerable communities, including displaced persons in the Boucle du Mouhoun, Centre-Est, and Est regions.
"This allocation comes at a critical time, when humanitarian actors are forced to make difficult choices due to insufficient resources: reducing the amount of aid or limiting its geographical coverage," said Carol Flore-Smereczniak, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Burkina Faso, in a statement on Saturday.
"Although it does not cover all needs, it sends a clear signal that lives can still be saved if international solidarity is maintained."
To date, only 16.4 percent of the $793 million required for the 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) has been received. Just over 450,000 people have been assisted, representing only 12 percent of the 3.7 million people targeted at the start of the year, mainly due to financial constraints.
According to OCHA, humanitarian interventions have slowed down or even stopped in several areas of the country, which jeopardizes the progress made and compromises the chances of recovery for the affected populations.
Due to the lack of funding, humanitarian agencies have been forced to reprioritize their interventions, focusing now on 1.2 million of the most vulnerable people with urgent, life-saving needs—less than half of the initial target. An urgent mobilization of $280 million is now essential to cover these critical needs.
“Behind the figures are lives. Every dollar that is missing means a child without a meal, a family without shelter, a woman without care,” said Flore-Smereczniak.
"While warmly thanking our donors for their continued support for the humanitarian response in Burkina Faso, we call for a collective, strengthened and sustained commitment to ensure a response that meets the challenges and needs of the affected communities."
Millions of children in the Central Sahel are at risk of severe malnutrition
Also on Saturday, at the conclusion of a mission to Burkina Faso, Catherine Russell, the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), appealed for urgent action to safeguard children in the Sahel region whose lives have been disrupted by insecurity, displacement, and climate change.
Across the Central Sahel region, which includes Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, the number of children under five suffering from acute malnutrition has more than doubled, rising from 2.2 million in 2015 to 6 million in 2023. Currently, more than 2.5 million children are at risk of wasting.
Russell visited Burkina Faso to observe the government's, humanitarian partners', and young people's efforts to address major challenges regarding children's health, education, and protection, and to appeal to the international community to support effective interventions proven to save and improve children's lives.
“The Sahel is one of the toughest places to be a child today, yet it’s getting the least of the world’s attention,” Russell said following her three-day visit.
Insecurity in the Central Sahel has displaced more than 2.9 million people, about half of whom are children. Attacks on communities, schools, health centers, and water points have increased the risk of malnutrition, diseases, child marriage, and recruitment into armed groups for children.
In a report released earlier this month, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), a non-governmental organization (NGO), listed Burkina Faso and Mali as two of the ten most neglected displacement crises in the world.
Violence has continued to spread across the Central Sahel and into neighboring countries, fueling further displacement, economic hardship, and mounting pressure on limited resources. Cycles of climate-related drought and flooding contribute to food insecurity and hardship.
According to a UN report released this week, in Burkina Faso alone the United Nations verified 1,142 grave violations against children in 2024. These violations included the killing and maiming of 708 children, as well as abductions and recruitment and use in combat. Most of these violations were attributed to the non-state armed group Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), one of the worst perpetrators of violations worldwide.
Meanwhile, millions of children are out of school and lack access to education. More than 8,000 schools have closed due to attacks or insecurity.
“The Sahel illustrates a perfect storm, with conflict, climate disasters and chronic underfunding feeding off each other,” said Russell.
“It should be a wake-up call to everyone that when crises are neglected, they fester. As always, children have the most to lose.”
Due to sudden and steep global funding reductions triggered by brutal cuts from the United States, UNICEF’s funding across West and Central Africa is expected to drop by 35 percent. This year, the agency's humanitarian appeal for children in the Central Sahel is $489.7 million to support the most vulnerable children. As of June 2025, however, the appeal has received less than 7 percent of its goal.