Burkina Faso has obtained CFAF 114.27 billion (over €174 million) in loans and grants from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to strengthen access to water and sanitation and reduce food insecurity through resilient agriculture. The financing agreements were signed on 27 February 2023 in the capital Ouagadougou.
The financing of 114.27 billion CFA francs (more than 174 million euros) granted by the African Development Bank (AfDB) will support six projects in Burkina Faso, notably in the water, sanitation and agriculture sectors. The related loan and grant agreements were signed recently between Burkina Faso’s Minister of Economy, Finance and Prospective, Aboubakar Nacanabo and AfDB Country Manager, Daniel Ndoye.
Of this funding, CFAF 30.196 billion (over 46 million euros) will be used to implement three water and sanitation projects in the West African country. The project, Pasepa-2R, will be launched soon in Burkina Faso for a period of five years. The project involves the construction of 30 drinking water supply systems (WSS), consisting of 100 large boreholes, 200 stand-alone water points and 160 washhouses. The Burkinabe government also plans to upgrade 30 existing water supply systems.
In the regions benefiting from Pasepa-2R, notably the Centre-West, Centre-North, Centre-South, North, Central Plateau and Sahel, access to sanitation will also be improved through the construction of 10,000 family latrines and 500 blocks of public latrines to reduce open defecation in Burkina Faso.
Improving access to water and sanitation
The Project for the Promotion of Hygiene, Drinking Water and Sanitation and Strengthening the Resilience of the Population to Covid-19 and Climate Change in Rural Areas in Eight Provinces (PHEPA-8P) is also financed by the AfDB. Targeting populations in the Centre-West, Centre-South and Central Plateau regions of Burkina Faso, the initiative will construct 29 water supply systems, 30 autonomous water stations with a solar pumping system, 3,500 family latrines and 100 blocks of institutional and public latrines.
PHEPA-8P also includes the development of 700 household cesspools and 40 cesspool laundries in health centres, the provision of 100 hygiene kits to institutions, the sensitisation of at least 250,000 people on good water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices, the prevention of Covid-19 and gender-based violence. PHEPA-8P also includes the construction of 10 climate-resilient faecal sludge treatment plants, as well as capacity building for 300 water and sanitation sub-sector staff and managers.
Read also –
The Support Project for Access to Drinking Water and Sanitation and Capacity Building for Resilience to Climate Change in Ouagadougou’s Peripheral Neighbourhoods (Paepa-QP) will also benefit from AfDB funding. The work, which will start soon, includes the construction of 15 standpipes, 10 latrines in schools and health centres, as well as 50 latrines for vulnerable households. At least 28,774 people, 52% of whom are women, including internally displaced persons, will be affected by the project, which will improve access to drinking water and sanitation in Burkina Faso. Currently, drinking water coverage in the West African country is 76% according to the Sahel Alliance. By 2021, the rate of access to sanitation was 20% in rural areas and 36% in urban areas, according to the Burkinabe authorities.
Strengthening food security
Burkina Faso is also facing a food crisis, partly caused by climate pressure. The AfDB is providing CFAF 80.047 billion (over €128 million) to reduce this insecurity through three projects. Project 2 of the Programme for Building Resilience to Food and Nutrition Insecurity in the Sahel (P2-P2RS), launched in 2014, will improve the living conditions of more than 3 million people, 51% of whom are women, by December 2023. The P2-P2RS programme is also being implemented in Chad, The Gambia, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.
The AfDB funding will also support the Integrated Development of Maize, Soybean, Poultry and Fish Value Chains and Resilience Project (Pimsar) and the Emergency Project for Strengthening Agricultural Production in Burkina Faso (PURPA-BF). Launched in 2015, Pimsar aims to contribute to the integrated, climate-resilient and inclusive development of the maize, soybean, poultry and fish value chains.
The Pimsar, which is due to end in December 2025, complements the PURPA-BF, which aims to increase production of maize, rice, soya, cowpea, sorghum and wheat in order to strengthen the food security of Burkina Faso’s population in the face of the impacts of the war in Ukraine. Launched in December 2022, PURPA-BF will run until August 2026.
Inès Magoum
