Four things you should know about the crisis in Burkina Faso

Months of tension and protests in Burkina Faso culminated with a military coup on Monday, January 24.The political crisis is added to a fragile context marked by a conflict with a dramatic deterioration of security and an increase in displacement of vertiginous population.This situation has left many people struggling to find food, water, shelter and medical care.Humanitarian organizations have also been affected by violence, something that makes it extremely difficult to provide help that is very necessary.

1 - More than one million people have been forced to leave their homes

For more than a decade, the central region of Sahel - mainly Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso - has been the scene of conflicts between several armed groups and government and international forces.In 2021, Burkina Faso became the main focus of violence in the region, with a strong increase in kidnappings and attacks, such as the one in Solhan in June, when 160 people died.While wingspan such as that is covered by international media, most of the continuous attacks go unnoticed.

According to the UN, more than 1.5 million people in a country of 20 million have been forced to leave their homes, most in the last three years;At the end of 2018 there were about 50.000 displaced people.Most of these population movements have occurred in the regions of Sahel, Central-Norte and this, but the conflict is progressively affecting areas that were previously considered stable.

Violence can explode suddenly, so people often flee with clothes on.A woman named Salamata, who now lives with her husband and four children in a field for people displaced in Barsalogho, in the center-norte region, told us last year: "One morning, we saw that all the town was emptied.Everyone ran, so we took the children and started running too.We were barefoot, but we didn't stop for 35 kilometers.It was when we got here that we learned that many of our relatives had been killed and our property destroyed.You may never see our people again ".

2 - Food and water are scarce

The impact of the conflict on the local population has become increasingly pronounced.Beyond the direct effects of physical violence, many have also lost their homes and subsistence means.For rural communities, fleeing home means losing crops and cattle.

During the next season, many people will not be able to sow or harvest any crops.With so many people who depend on agriculture and livestock to feed their families, food availability is a reason for great concern.MSF and other organizations are distributing food and treating children with malnutrition.

In displaced fields, living conditions are usually precarious, with inappropriate stores for the rainy season, with rudimentary sanitation and with insufficient drinking water.People in these fields tell us that they often have to walk several kilometers and then wait several hours to get enough water to drink, cook and wash.

Burkina Faso is a country without exit to the sea, with limited rainfall and the general water availability is decreasing due to climate change.While local communities do everything possible to house the large number of displaced people, the increase in water demand is causing generalized shortage.Msf and other organizations we pierce wells and transport water in trucks when necessary.

3 - The conflict is having a great physical and psychological impact

Our medical teams work in five of the 13 regions of the country and are witnesses of the effects of conflict on people looking for medical attention.In addition to needing treatment for physical injuries caused by violence, many of our patients suffer a psychological impact by having seen people killed in front of them, their houses and burned crops, their possessions and subsistence means reduced to nothing.

The precarious living conditions expose people to a high risk of contracting diseases, including endemic ailments such as malaria, a disease that suffered 11 million Burkinesses in 2020.The overcrowding conditions increase the probability of infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, while poor sanitation and water scarcity trigger the risk of water outbreaks transmitted by water such as diarrhea and cholera.

4 - Reaching a hospital is a challenge;provide medical care

People need more food, more water and better access to medical care in all regions currently affected by the conflict in Burkina Faso.However, there is a deficit in the provision of humanitarian assistance that is due to a series of factors, including lack of financing and, above all, insecurity.

The extreme levels of insecurity often prevent people from moving to visit a doctor, while many other people cannot pay transportation to the hospital.At the same time, insecurity sometimes prevents health workers, including our teams, reaching the needy communities.

Today, medical and humanitarian teams face risks in Burkina Faso.MSF workers, as well as other organizations and the Ministry of Health, have been attacked and, sometimes, kidnapped.They have stolen ambulances and health centers have been destroyed. En algunos lugares, se han colocado artefactos explosivos improvisados ​​en las carreteras, lo que hace que viajar sea potencialmente letal.

Due to these dangers, we have seen a significant reduction in the number of midwives of the Ministry of Health in the East Region and health centers have been closed in the Sahel region after attacks against medical staff.According to the Ministry of Health, in June 2021, 357 health establishments throughout the country were closed or were not in full functioning as a result of violence.There is a shortage of specialist doctors, including surgeons, anesthetists and midwives, in all areas of Burkina Faso affected by violence.