Burkina Faso: Growing poverty and hunger

The situation of the people of Burkina Faso has become more critical after the military coup in this country.
 
In the past five months, violence has increased catastrophically and eroded public confidence in the current government. It threatens West African coastal countries with just as much consequence, worsening a humanitarian crisis that has now displaced nearly two million people.
 
The conditions are more difficult in urban centers where most of the displaced people reside. In the northern city of Jibu, for example, the population grew from 60,000 to about 300,000 during the war, according to government and UN statistics.
 
Abdulrauf Ganun Kund, the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in this country, said: "Displaced people in cities face new risks such as exploitation, violence, or forced labor.
 
On the other hand, famine is increasing. People are driven from their fields and this has prevented the cultivation of crops. According to the United Nations, even though food costs for the average household have increased by 30 percent, agricultural production has fallen by 10 percent this year, which spells a much more difficult future.
 
In total, nearly 3.5 million of the country's 21 million people are currently food insecure - a 20 percent increase from 2021, while more than 630,000 people will be food insecure, according to the United Nations. They are facing severe hunger.
 
Hunger is especially severe in villages under jihadist control. Residents are often afraid to continue farming due to attacks near their farms, while aid groups struggle to reach these locations due to insecurity and the challenge of access to negotiate with the militants.
 
With reduced humanitarian aid and no prospect of an end to the violence, many local residents have lost all hope for peace and improved livelihoods.

_{Source: The new humanitarian}