Between 9 June and 18 July, UNICEF and partners will reach at least 5 million people, including adolescents and youths, across Burkina Faso with lifesaving interventions and information on the prevention of child malnutrition and waterborne diseases, while also promoting exclusive breastfeeding, birth registration, and boys’ and girls’ education.
“Adolescents and young people are the driving force of Burkina Faso. When they are well-skilled and well-equipped and given equal chances, the youths will become changemakers and will uplift their communities. In times of emergency, young people need to have the knowledge and tools to protect themselves and their communities. Investing in young people is essential to multiply gains for the well-being of women and children,” says Sandra Lattouf, UNICEF Representative in Burkina Faso.
The caravan, named ‘Faso Jeunes’, will visit 8 out of 13 Burkina Faso regions, reaching at least 5 million people with lifesaving information while directly targeting 80,000 adolescents and youths with messages on good hygiene, health and nutritional practices, preventing female genital mutilation and child marriage as well as fact-checking to fight misinformation. It also aims to immunize 3,200 people against hepatitis B, the main cause of liver cancer, causing around 5,000 deaths per year in Burkina.
The event is built around U-Report, a youth movement with 153,000 subscribers across the country who receive a stream of information about children’s rights and share their thoughts on the situation for children. In total, 3,200 youths will be trained and attend theatre, parades and concerts organised with two young singers, four digital influencers, and one national Goodwill Ambassador mobilized to disseminate messages. The caravan also sensitises climate change effects and seeks to reinforce social cohesion.
The caravan comes at a time when Burkina Faso is experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, with more children and families than ever before at heightened risk of illness due to diseases and malnutrition, dropping out of school, and experiencing abuse and violence. Currently, an estimated 5.5 million people require humanitarian assistance in the country, including 3.2 million children caught in the conflict. More than 2 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to violence, 58 per cent of whom are children.
Due to armed attacks and insecurity, more than 830,000 people lost access to safe drinking water, 345 health centres remain closed, and 375 are operating at minimal levels, reducing access to health services for more than 3.4 million people. In Burkina Faso’s Centre Region, home to many displaced families, the number of children treated for severe acute malnutrition increased by 50 per cent in 2022 compared to the previous year.
Additionally, 1 in 4 schools has had to shut their doors this year due to insecurity and conflict, depriving more than a million students of their right to education and increasing their risk of dropping out. Already 50 per cent of school-aged children are estimated to have never attended school.
