HAMAP-Humanitaire supports international solidarity work in Burkina Faso

For several years HAMAP-Humanitaire has been working in Burkina Faso with various local and international partners to improve access to education and access to water and sanitation. As is the case for many international solidarity organisations, however, the increase in attacks by non-state armed groups is having a heavy impact on the projects run there. According to UN estimates, one Burkinabe in five, or 4.7 million people, needs humanitarian aid (HRP, 2023). As the security situation deteriorates and needs grow, support for humanitarian and development projects matters more than ever.

While the right of access to water and sanitation is recognised internationally as a fundamental right, in 2022 only 40% of Burkinabe had access to sanitation and 72% had access to drinking water, with wide disparities between rural and urban areas.

According to a study on the financing of the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector in Burkina Faso, carried out by the Centre for information, training and studies on the budget (Cifoed) in partnership with the association WaterAid, Burkina Faso would need 852.74 billion CFA francs, more than one billion euros, between 2023 and 2025 to improve WASH services. These needs are heightened by the large numbers of internally displaced people fleeing violence, which increases the pressure on existing infrastructure. That infrastructure is also sometimes targeted directly by armed groups (destruction, attacks on water points and so on) or affected indirectly by the conflict (power cuts, blocked access and so on).

Beyond the volatile security context, environmental issues are a major challenge in a region particularly vulnerable to climate hazards. The United Nations Water Conference held in New York from 22 to 24 March 2023 underlined the fragility of West African countries, where temperatures are rising 1.5 times faster than the global average. Growing water scarcity, combined with the political and security crisis Burkina Faso is going through, affects more than 3 million people in the WASH sector.

Support from France, a long-standing partner of the Burkinabe state, and from international funders is therefore essential if the country is to meet the challenges it faces. With this in mind, HAMAP-Humanitaire calls on all its partners and on the general public to keep supporting its work in the land of upright people.