Humanitarian Action for Children 2011 - Unicef

Burkina FasoChildren and women in crisisBurkina Faso’s systemic poverty and paucity of resources have made responding to recentcatastrophic flooding and virulent epidemics all the more challenging. Unprecedented floodsin Ouagadougou in September 2009 and subsequent torrential rains and flooding in manyparts of the country from July through September 2010 affected several hundred thousandpeople. The flooding dramatically increased the risk of disease and undernutrition. Outbreaksof meningitis resulted in 5,980 cases in the first half of 2010, and 40 per cent of those affectedwere children under age 5. 1 While the prevalence of global acute malnutrition in Burkina Fasowas reduced from 21.2 per cent in 2003 2 to 11.3 per cent in 2009, 3 the country is still consideredto be at emergency undernutrition levels.Humanitarianfunding at work:Highlights from 2010By late 2010, UNICEF hadhelped make significantachievements in a vulnerablepopulation’s nutrition status,access to health services,sanitation and hygiene, aswell as improvements in theeducation and the welfareof children. Some 21,600children were treated forsevere acute malnutritionin the first half of 2010,compared with 26,000 inall of 2009. A vaccinationcampaign successfullyimmunized 678,000 peopleat risk for meningitis. Theconstruction of six new waterpoints provided 1,800 peoplein relocation areas withdrinking water; 1,000 familiesbenefited from bettersanitation and from servicespromoting healthier hygienebehaviour. Education reliefand assistance has reachednearly 15,000 children.UNICEF established psychosocialsupport services andchild-friendly spaces thatreached 3,800 vulnerableand affected children,adolescents and women.These are only a few of theresults achieved during 2010.Meeting urgent needs and building resilience in 2011UNICEF, together with a number of partners, including the Government of Burkina Faso andnon-governmental organizations, will focus on assisting the most vulnerable and hard-toreachpeople in the rural areas that have been hard hit by drought, floods and disease. UNICEFexpects to reach around 150,000 people living in emergency conditions in 2011, including80,000 children.• Disease often finds an opening where natural disasters have struck. Introduction of theconjugate Meningitis A vaccine in December 2010 will curb the number of meningitis casesnationwide in 2011.• Safe water in sufficient quantity is a key to staying healthy. At least 85,000 flood-affectedpeople, among them 18,000 children, will gain access to adequate drinking water; 80 per centof the displaced population will have access to adequate sanitation.• More than 49,200 boys and girls aged 3–15 will have access to quality education facilities inflood-affected areas of the Centre-North, East, Plateau Central and Sahel regions.• Protection of children and women will be enhanced in 2011 through dissemination of data onthreats to their well-being and by helping other organizations incorporate protection goalsinto their work.• UNICEF will help improve community management of children with severe acutemalnutrition, to save the lives of 45,000 children.Funding requirements for 2011UNICEF is requesting US$11,480,000 for its 2011 humanitarian work in Burkina Faso inresponse to the high number of children and women affected by disasters and food insecurity.More information on achievements of 2010 and the humanitarian action planned forBurkina Faso in 2011 can be found at www.unicef.org/hac2011 or at the country officewebsite at www.unicef.org/bfa/english.1. National Epidemics Management Committee, Department of Disease Control, ‘Report on the EpidemiologySurvey’, Ministry of Health, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, July 2010, p. 3.2. UNICEF recalculation based on the Demographic and Health Survey 2003, and according to WHO Child GrowthStandards.3. Nutrition Department, ‘National Nutrition Survey’, Ministry of Health, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 2009, p. 32.UNICEF EMERGENCY NEEDS FOR 2011 (in US dollars)Total $11,480,0001,300,000 Health450,000Child protection6,025,000 Nutrition1,315,000 WASH2,390,000 Education62 2011 UNICEF Humanitarian Action FOR CHILDREN | www.unicef.org/hac2011Burkina Faso