1. SUMMARY
Despite the improved agricultural season of 2012-2013 which yielded greater cereal production (33.6% higher than the 2011/2012 yield), 1.8 million people in Burkina Faso remain food- insecure2 and are yet to recover from the 2012 food and nutrition crisis. Many families are putting any surplus from this year’s harvest towards paying back debts incurred the previous year. Furthermore, households face difficulties in food access due to low purchasing power, low household agricultural production and the isolation of many parts of the country.
In response, the Comité Technique du Conseil National de Sécurité Alimentaire (CT-CNSA) has elaborated in May 2013 an operational plan on resilience and support to vulnerable populations that outlines the groups in need of assistance and focuses on minimizing the effects of food insecurity on vulnerable populations and livestock, while implementing resilience-building activities for households affected by last year’s food crisis, with a focus on early action.
On the epidemiological situation, by the 22nd week of this year 2,586 suspected cases of measles were registered, including 35% notified by the Sahel Health Region. Out of the 35% Sahel cases, 40% come from the refugee camps. A measles vaccination campaign targeting the refugee populations aged six months and older was conducted from 5 to 11 February 2013 by health authorities in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other partners, which for various reasons covered only 35% of the target. The epidemiologic surveillance is still in progress across the country.
After reviewing the situation and in the light of the national response plan, the Burkina Faso Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) maintains the four strategic objectives identified for humanitarian action this year. Looking forward, however, the humanitarian community is deeply concerned with the insufficiency of funding for humanitarian resilience-sensitive activities in 2013. If this trend is not reversed, it will be hard to consolidate the gains made this year with the good harvests and there may be no noticeable improvement in the humanitarian caseload in 2014.