On the 17 of October, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) published an update concerning the situation in Burkina Faso. Overall, the country has been experiencing violence since 2018: starting from that year, over 1.5 million people have been internally displaced as a result of violent clashes in the Sahel, and the country has since been the focus of humanitarian operations for helping civilians cope with the situation. In this last report, MSF reported the testimony of Alfarock Ag-Almoustakine, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) project coordinator in Djibo, Burkina Faso.
The coordinator stated his concern about the critical situation, saying that “I’ve been particularly shocked by how fast the situation has deteriorated during the months I’ve been working in Djibo”. He then added that food, water and sanitation, and healthcare are the most urgent needs, and the international community must contribute to this. Moreover, he underlined the risks of access to the targeted areas for humanitarian operators: “The security situation in the town (Dijbo) has deteriorated sharply since 2019. It is impossible to reach it by road because of improvised explosive devices, ambushes, attacks, and the irregular checkpoints set up on the road.” This also lays the basis for once again stressing the need to ban the use of explosive weapons in residential areas.
Overall, the organization is putting all its effort to improve the situation, despite all the risks. It has been reported that since the beginning of the current year MSF provided 41,147 general health consultations, vaccinated 6,086 children against a range of diseases, and treated 389 children with moderate acute malnutrition.
To read more, visit:
- https://www.msf.org/violence-and-severe-supply-shortages-leave-people-across-burkina-faso-dire-need
- https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/burkina-faso
- https://reliefweb.int/report/burkina-faso/8-civilians-killed-every-day-violence-central-sahel
- https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/africa/west-and-central-africa/burkina-faso/report-burkina-faso/
by Alexia Tenneriello
