Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are three countries in the Sahel region currently experiencing a serious crisis, which is spreading. A total of 10 million children are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
The lack of water leads to malnutrition and diseases
Conflict in Burkina Faso has forced people to flee, often to neighbouring countries, who themselves are struggling with a devastating drought, worsening the situation overall. What’s more, since 2022, attacks on water infrastructure have been multiplying.
The acute water shortage has a detrimental effect on children’s health. As crops wither, children do not have enough to eat and the number of cases of severe acute malnutrition has risen sharply. To make matters worse, life-threatening diseases spread more rapidly due to unsafe water.
We are on the ground
to provide lifesaving aid
Here is how UNICEF helps affected populations
We effectively fight against malnutrition in the Sahel region and supply water by truck. But above all, we are continuously working on developing solutions to guarantee children sustainable access to drinking water. Safe water, and with it improved hygiene, enables UNICEF to stem the tide of disease and save lives.
We provide sustainable support
To help children in the long term, we implement sustainable, climate-resilient solutions, such as solar-powered water systems. In Mali alone, we were able to build more than 160 such systems last year, providing access to drinking water for more than 370,000 inhabitants. In 2022, we supplied 820,000 people in the Sahel region with clean and safe water.
Students line up in the schoolyard to wash their hands. UNICEF equipped this school in Dedougou in western Burkina Faso, like many other in the region, with a solar-powered water system. This has enabled us to help children in the long term by giving them permanent access to clean water.
