Burkina Faso (with Interpeace)

Burkina Faso is facing a terrible jihadist insurgency which is causing insecurity and internal displacement of populations, these past few years. Human security of populations is undermined by the presence and attacks of armed jihadist groups, and the displacement of populations can generate tensions around access to natural resources. In 2022, the country is mired in crisis, and experienced two coups in the space of 10 months, the last dated in September 2022, which reveals this socio-economic and political instability.

A study on the satisfaction of the security offer in Burkina Faso (2021-2022) was conducted by Interpeace with the financial support of the Canadian Embassy. The methodological approach used in this survey is based simultaneously on a qualitative methodology developed by Interpeace Burkina Faso through Participatory Action Research (RAP in French) and the statistical tool SCORE (Social Cohesion and Reconciliation index). This study had the technical contribution of the National Institute of Statistics and Demography of Burkina Faso (INSD). Collected from November 1 to December 3, 2021, the quantitative data concerned a total of 2,964 interviews which were carried out in 5 regions of the country (East, Center-North, Center, Sahel Boucle du Mouhoun).

In 2023, a study about psychosocial well-being in Burkina Faso was conducted by SeeD and Interpeace with the financial and technical support of the Swedish Embassy. The project’s target was to enchance psychosocial well-being, resilience and sustainable peace.

Its main purpose was to strenghten the psychosocial and economic resilience of individuals affected by the security and humanitarian crisis of the Cascades region, with the aim of facilitating the social cohesion. The study improved understanding of the impact of conflicts and worsened security on mental health, psychosocial support, social cohesion, livelihoods, and the primary needs of affected individuals, such as the former combatants of the Defense and Security Forces and armed groups, their families, internally displaced persons, and host communities. It provided the necessary tools and skills to answer the multidimensional needs related to mental health, psychosocial support and livelihoods of populations affected by security and humanitarian crises, in connection with social cohesion and peacebuilding. The study results were also used in the development of a national framework for care that integrates mental health, psychosocial support, livelihoods, and social cohesion.