The International Rescue Committee (IRC), a Non-Governmental Organisation, has issued a warning that an additional one million people in Burkina Faso could be facing hunger in the coming months due to the ongoing insecurity in certain parts of the country.
Presently, an estimated 2.2 million people, which is one in 10 of the population, are already experiencing hunger. However, the IRC projects that this number could escalate to 3.3 million by September.
The persistent militant Islamist insurgency has resulted in some regions becoming almost completely isolated, with limited access to food supplies and the closure of health facilities.
The situation in the northern town of Djibo, which accommodates over 200,000 people displaced from other areas, is particularly dire. The once-thriving food market is now nearly empty, and a significant proportion of local health clinics have been forced to close down.
Tragically, last year, 11 soldiers lost their lives in an ambush when they were escorting a supply convoy en route to Djibo.
The IRC has called for increased international attention to the plight of people in Burkina Faso as they struggle with food insecurity and the challenges brought about by the ongoing conflict.
Currently, the country is under the governance of a military junta led by President Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who assumed power in October of the previous year with the commitment to reclaim territories from the militants.