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Burkina Faso: UNHCR Operational Update, August 2019

Countries
Burkina Faso
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UNHCR
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KEY INDICATORS

16,000 Estimation of number of Burkinabe citizens who have looked for safety in neighboring countries.

27,960 Number of birth certificates UNHCR helped to deliver to IDPs and host communities

33,007 people forced to flee their homes who have been registered in August.

Operational Context

Despite government efforts to counter armed groups’ attacks, the security situation in Burkina Faso, mainly in the northern part of the country continues to deteriorate. This results in an increasing number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and limiting access to UNHCR and its partners to provide protection and assistance to refugees and IDPs who are in dire need for assistance. As of 6 September 2019, the number of IDPs in Burkina Faso has reached 288,994 – triple the number of displaced persons in January 2019.

The arrival of IDPs to new locations has an important impact on access to education, water supply and health services. The additional burden on already limited natural resources and basic social infrastructures may cause tensions between newly displaced people and host communities. This places increasing demands on UNHCR’s resources for protection monitoring and assistance.

For over a year, thousands of asylum seekers from Mali have continued to enter Boucle du Mouhoun and Nord regions, fleeing an intensification of violence in Central Mali. According to authorities some 8,000 Malian asylum seekers live in spontaneous sites or with the local population in the Nord and Boucle du Mouhoun regions. Due to rising insecurity in hosting areas, UNHCR has not been able to carry out its registration strategy jointly developed with the Government.

In addition, Burkina Faso is a transit country for migratory movements northwards. These migratory flows are mixed and consist of economic migrants, as well as persons in need of international protection.