More than 500,000 people without health care in Burkina Faso, says ICRC
Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (PANA) - More than 500,000 people have been deprived of health care or have had great difficulty in seeking treatment in the past six months, due to an intensification of armed violence in Burkina Faso since early 2019, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement on Monday.
According to ICRC statistics, the number of health care centres affected by armed violence has multiplied by 12 since last January, while it was 10 at the beginning of the year.
In addition, they rose to 125 in August - 60 closed and 65 are only partially operational.
The ICRC explains that in the face of an unprecedented increase in security incidents, many health workers are leaving rural areas plagued by armed violence, most of which are located in the Sahel and North Central regions.
For example, between May 2018 and July 2019, it recorded no less than 26 incidents in which health workers, their property or vehicles were directly affected.
"Because of the violence, access to health care has become a challenge in some parts of Burkina Faso - a dramatic consequence for many families, especially those with injured or sick children," ICRC President Peter Maurer said after his meeting with Burkina Faso's President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré on 6 September in Ouagadougou.
During his two-day visit in Burkina Faso, Mr. Maurer visited a prison and also met with residents who were forced to flee following armed violence.
The number of internally displaced people has increased more than five fold in nine months, from 50,000 in December 2018 to more than 270,000 in August 2019, with thousands of families of breeders and farmers now unable to meet their needs.
Famine and malnutrition are a major concern as 1.2 million people are already food insecure.
"Burkina Faso faces multiple challenges, including climate shocks, which exacerbate the consequences of armed violence. As water becomes scarcer, tensions around natural resources increase. We all know that the problems of climate change will not be solved in a day. That is why we must unite efforts and work together to limit the most serious effects of the upheavals to come," Mr. Maurer said.
ICRC interventions in Burkina Faso, in cooperation with the Burkinabe Red Cross, focus on health, access to drinking water and the provision of livelihoods.
From January to June 2019, medical kits were provided to several health facilities in the Sahel, Eastern and Northern regions, helping more than 21,000 people affected by the violence.
There was support for a childhood vaccination campaign against measles and meningitis as well as health centres (mainly in Djibo, Sahel region).
In the same period, there was a distribution of food to 22,000 internally displaced people in the areas affected by the violence.
The rehabilitation of water points and the construction of wells have improved access to safe drinking water for more than 7,800 people (internally displaced and members of host communities).
At the beginning of the year, 68,000 head of cattle were vaccinated to help preserve the main livelihood of many people affected by the violence.
-0- PANA BAL/JSG/BBA/MA 9Sept2019
