The country has been forced to cope with a host of recent challenges, including a major locust infestation; outbreaks of meningitis, yellow fever and cholera; the spread of HIV/AIDS; civil conflict in neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire; falling export prices; and surging fuel costs Burkina Faso ranks 174 of 177 countries on the Human Development Index Over 45 percent of the population live below the poverty line Food insecurity is very high, with chronic malnutrition reaching 39 percent and acute malnutrition 19 percent

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CERF allocates $878,000 to underfunded activities in Burkina Faso

8 October 2007: CERF allocates $878,000 to Burkina Faso as part of the second underfunded allocation in 2007.

During the past decade, the prevalence of under nutrition and micronutrients deficiency in Burkina Faso has worsened reaching precarious levels. According to the latest Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), 90% of children under-five are affected by anemia. Acute under nutrition (wasting) has increased from 13% to 18.6% (more than 450,000 children) over the past ten years indicating an alarming situation well above the WHO highest threshold. Similarly, the prevalence of stunting and underweight increased during the same period, from respectively 31% and 30% to 39% and 38%.

Cotton farmers in Burkina Faso see their income dwindling [Photo: IRIN/Ouedraogo]

A similar deteriorating trend has been observed with respect to maternal health. The percentage of underweight women (BMI<18.5) of childbearing age increased from 15% to 21%. Furthermore, almost 70% of pregnant women suffer from anemia and 13% are affected by vitamin A deficiency.

Under nutrition and micronutrients deficiency are the direct causes of the high levels of low birth weight babies in Burkina Faso. It is estimated that more than 15% of new-borns weigh less than 2.5 kg. Statistics have demonstrated that infant mortality doubles among children with low-birth weight.

Almost two children out of ten die before the age of five in Burkina Faso. In absolute terms this translates into more than 110,000 deaths, half of which occur before their first year of life. 

These findings were confirmed by the September 2006 joint Government/ UNICEF/FAO/WFP nutrition and food security assessment mission, which recommended that an integrated multi-sectoral approach including both curative and preventive activities be developed and jointly implemented by Government/UNCT/NGOs, to provide young children, pregnant and lactating women with a minimum nutrition package in order to improve their nutritional status.
 
Although the poor nutrition situation characterizes all regions in Burkina Faso, the mission identified five regions (Sahel, North, Centre-north, East and South-west) where the problem is particularly acute. The situation in four of the five regions is further aggravated by their vulnerability to recurrent cereal production shortfalls.

The CERF grant will be used to continue the implementation of the complementary WFP/UNICEF/WHO/FAO multisectoral activities. Furthermore, the availability of resources at this critical moment will enable the UN system to timely and adequately respond to the augmented malnutrition needs in the three flood affected regions in Burkina Faso.

UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) grant of $227,910 will provide care and support for children suffering from acute malnutrition in regions affected by flooding in Burkina Faso. The expected outcome by December 2007 is for health services and therapeutic nutrition centers to provide  therapeutic nutrients, micronutrient supplements and  essential generic drugs to malnourished children under five years old in 3 regions affected by flooding.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will also work in the flood affected regions to provide seeds and tools to farmers in order to increase their food security prospects for 1,000 families dependent on agricultural output for their survival.

The World Food Programme (WFP) grant will respond to the serious nutrition situation by providing 334,000 undernourished beneficiaries with micronutrient rich supplementary food rations.

[Last Update: 15 October 2007]

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CERF helps control meningitis outbreak in Burkina Faso

11 April 2007: CERF allocates USD 1.8 million to control a meningitis outbreak in Burkina Faso.

A meningitis epidemic has erupted in Burkina Faso, while eight other West African countries have been affected by the highly contagious disease to varying degrees. Since 1 January 2007, Burkina Faso alone has registered over 15,000 cases and 1,100 deaths according to WHO. Particular concern is raised that the current trend of the epidemic could be similar to the situation in 1996, where nearly 43,000 cases led to a death toll above 4,300 in Burkina Faso alone.

Like other countries in the meningitis belt spanning from Senegal to Ethiopia, Burkina Faso has a history of meningitis epidemics. Between 1995 and 1997 the meningitis belt experienced the largest recent epidemic, with over 250,000 cases and 25,000 deaths registered. A worst case scenario would involve a generalization of the epidemic in the meningitis belt and the lack of sufficient doses of vaccines to protect people at risk. Weak health infrastructures would quickly become overwhelmed and some 30,000 human lives could potentially be at risk.

Meningitis Belt 1995-1999 [Source: WHO]

However, this year, the epidemic has expanded rapidly in comparison with the same period last year. The Government of Burkina Faso appealed for international assistance on 23 February and a range of health partners with local presence in Burkina came forward with immediate assistance.  As of early April, in spite of the many efforts already undertaken, the Government and health partners are faced with a situation where the epidemic continues to expand. 41 health districts out of 55, with a total population of over 10 million persons, are considered to be in a state of epidemic according to the Ministry of Health.

The CERF grant of $1 million is enabling UNICEF to ensure the supply of vaccines for a mass campaign over a three months period. WHO will use its allocation of $800,000 for logistics that serve the implementation of the vaccination campaign. The aim is to reduce morbidity and mortality among the population at risk.

Elsewhere in the sub-region, an allocation of $1.7 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has been made available to fight the meningitis outbreak in northern Côte d’Ivoire.

What is meningitis?

The cause of meningitis is the Bacterium Neisseria meningitidis. Strains A, B, C, Y, and W135 are the most common. Infected people typically carry the disease without showing symptoms and spread the bacteria through coughing and sneezing. Meningitis causes sudden and intense headaches, fever, nausea, vomiting, photophobia, and stiffness of the neck. Death may occur within hours of the onset of symptoms. The disease occurs sporadically throughout the world, but the vast majority of cases and deaths are in Africa. Epidemics regularly hit countries in the area referred to as the African "meningitis belt," which stretches across the continent from Senegal to Ethiopia. The total population at risk in these countries is around 300 million.

Without treatment, bacterial meningitis kills up to 50 percent of infected people. Even if the disease is diagnosed early and treated with appropriate antibiotics, such as chloramphenicol or ceftriaxone, the case fatality rate remains 5 to 10 percent. As many as one out of five survivors will suffer from neurological after-effects such as deafness or mental retardation. Timely mass vaccinations are the most effective means of limiting the spread of epidemics. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that mass immunizations have managed to prevent up to 70 percent of expected cases in individual meningitis outbreaks in Africa.

[Last update: 12 April 2007]

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CERF in Burkina Faso 2008

CERF in Burkina Faso 2006

Meningitis Epidemic in West Africa (OCHA Press Release, 23 March 2007)
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