(Ecofin Agency) - The Burkinabe government is seeking $100 million, about XOF55 billion, for a humanitarian emergency in response to the current insecurity crisis in the central north, east and north regions of the country. This was announced by the Burkinabe ministry of national solidarity, in collaboration with the United Nations System, during a press conference held Feb.14 in Ouagadougou.  

According to the department, the money will be used to assist 900,000 people most affected by the crisis providing them with food, water, shelter and health care, and protection. “Our common fight is to ensure the dignity and protection of the affected populations,” said the solidarity minister, Hélène Marie Laurence Ilboudo.

Statistics from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs -OCHA- show that this year, an estimated 676,000 people will be food insecure, with 130,000 children being at risk of severe acute malnutrition. The insecurity has already forced more than 83,000 people to flee their homes, half of them in the past two months.

Let’s note that OCHA forecasts a total of 1.2 million internally displaced persons for 2019, about 5.7% of Burkinabe population.

Firmine AÏZAN