Health and food security

Donate for Burkina Faso

Eine burkinische Frau trägt eine Wasserschüssel auf dem Kopf und lacht in die Kamera

Aid for Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, almost two million people are fleeing violence and seeking refuge in the north of the country. Help is active in the affected regions and ensures basic supplies for the population, for example by building wells and sanitary facilities.

In addition, we are particularly committed to empowering women and mothers, for example by improving healthcare and through income-generating measures.

Donate now

Table of contents

million people are internally displaced

42 %

of all healthcare facilities are out of service or severely impaired

6.3

million people need humanitarian aid

Securing the future in Burkina Faso

Eine Frau mit ihren beiden Kindern — Help is primarily committed to the health of children and mothers in Burkina Faso.

Help has been working in Burkina Faso since 2008 and has so far implemented over 50 projects in the fields of healthcare, food security, infrastructure development and emergency aid for refugees. We have already been able to help over 2 million people in Burkina Faso.

One particularly effective project is our support for preventive healthcare for mothers, pregnant women and children. Our work has significantly reduced maternal and child mortality in Burkina Faso. The Burkinabe state has now adopted Help's model of free preventive healthcare for children under the age of 5 and pregnant and breastfeeding women, which is supported by the European Union.

Help is currently helping to ensure food security in Burkina Faso by promoting agriculture and providing care for malnourished children and mothers. We are also providing emergency aid for families who have had to flee within the country. We also improve access to healthcare and promote income-generating measures. Our focus here is on empowering women.

A spiral of poverty, war and hunger

A Burkinabe woman stands in front of a tent for displaced families — Over two million people are currently displaced in Burkina Faso. Together with our partners, we are providing emergency accommodation.

The countries in the Sahel region are among the poorest in the world. The already challenging climate in African countries is becoming increasingly unpredictable. The people of Burkina Faso are also struggling with hunger as a result of droughts and water shortages. Yet Burkina Faso has made great development progress since the 1990s: maternal mortality has been halved and the number of children enrolled in school has more than doubled - from 30 percent (1990) to 65 percent (2015).

However, Burkina Faso has been in a state of crisis for years. Frequent attacks by armed groups make the border regions with Mali and Niger unsafe places. Only a few health facilities are still in operation there and many families have had to leave their homes. Women and children in particular are often left with nothing after fleeing.

In addition, climate change is exacerbating the already threatening water shortage and the loss of fertile soil, which is fuelling ethnic conflicts in the region. Over three million people in Burkina Faso are food insecure.of all health facilities are out of order or severely impaired

Kleinbäuerin Patenema Ouédraogo bei der Arbeit auf ihrem Feld

Patenema works hard to secure her family's livelihood. She is one of 100 young internally displaced people in Burkina Faso's Centre-Nord region who Help is supporting in building a sustainable livelihood. She earns her living by growing vegetables: on her plot of land, she grows various types of vegetables in mixed crops, mainly onions. Patenema can sell the surplus yields and thus earn an additional income for her family and support her children's education.

I can harvest cabbage, eggplants, peppers and onions on my plot without paying a cent and use them to prepare delicious meals for my family.

Patenema, Smallholder farmer from Burkina Faso

A monthly donation provides lasting help

With your regular contribution, we can help the people in Burkina Faso in the long term.