Burkina Faso

The Challenges and the Changes

Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world, more than 80% of the population relies on subsistence agriculture, while only a small proportion of Burkinabés work in industry or services. To make progress towards the MDGs would be a huge step forward. Recent support for growing Fairtrade cotton offers some hope.

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Poverty and Hunger

Challenges

A 2003 estimate* put 45% of Burkinabés below the poverty line. Burkina Faso faces many challenges which all contribute to the cycle of poverty:

• Up to 2003, malnutrition amongst young children was increasing
• The lowest literacy rate in the world
• Low rainfall and poor soil, making farming hard
• Lack of local services to support communities and improve people’s lives
• Past political instability and corruption

Ethnic tensions and violence, especially in the neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire. This affects the amount of money being sent back to Burkina Faso as fewer Burkinabés now work in Cote d’Ivoire

Changes

The government in Burkina Faso has set a national objective: to reduce by a third the proportion of the population living in absolute poverty between 1998 and 2015.

• To reach the Millennium Development Goals target, a reduction of absolute poverty from 46% in 2003 to 23% in 2015 would be necessary.
• The government objective is 30% by 2015.

See the graph below taken from the UN progress report.

Recently, the World Bank, the Government and foreign donor partners created a Community Based Rural Development Program to give rural people more power and authority over their own projects and initiatives

In 1999, hunger affected 43% of the population. The Millennium Development Goals’ target for 2015 is to reduce this to 21% - see graph from the UN progress report below.

For this to happen will require:

• improved food safety
• managing the fertility of the ground
• promoting small village irrigation
• securing access to farm land and improving the distribution of seeds

The government of Burkina Faso has set ambitious targets to reduce poverty, hunger and let children go to school. The MDG targets are even more ambitious. Can they be achieved by 2015?

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Education

Challenges

The United Nations Development Program Report 2005 places Burkina Faso as the most illiterate country in the world

• With only a 13% literacy rate, even lower amongst women and among disabled people almost 100 per cent illiteracy??
• A language barrier operates in schools were lessons are taught in French only spoken by 15% of the population??

Changes

However things are improving:

• The number of children who can read and write increased from 19% in 1994 to 30% in 2003
• In 2003, 52% of children were attending school and the aim for 2015 is to have 100% of children in school
• Centres for non-formal education in literacy are being set up to educate as many adults as possible
• The government target for 2015 is to achieve a 70% literacy rate amongst adults. This is supported by the international community.

read the article:
Making up for fifty years of neglect in Burkina Faso

After reading the article what do you think needs to happen to make it possible for all children to attend school?

Should Burkina Faso receive a large increase in aid from richer countries as part of a large aid programme for Africa (similar to the Marshall Plan)?

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Unfair trade and debt

Challenges

• Despite the fact that Burkina Faso’s economy grew at around 5% per year from 1995 to 2002, poverty increased from 44% in 1994 to 46% in 2003. So while some people were becoming better off, others were becoming poorer
• For Burkina Faso cotton exports provide 4-7% of GDP but are sold on an unfair world market

The cost of production for US cotton is three times as much than in Burkina Faso, a country in which more than two million people depend on cotton production. Over half of these farmers live below the poverty line. The value of subsidies granted to US cotton producers is greater than the total national income of Burkina Faso.

Child labour is widespread and includes the worst forms of child labour and slavery. Children as young as five work so the family can eat.

See Slavery in Burkina Faso and Mali

See Worst forms of Child labour: What’s it like working in a gold mine in Burkina Faso?

Changes

Burkina Faso will begin to produce Fairtrade certified cotton for example for M&S, this is already happening in Mali

 To achieve economic growth Burkina Faso needs to be able to sell its cotton, what is the best way forward? How can we support this in the UK and EU?   

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promoting organic farming. Fada, Burkina Faso; Andy Aitchison

 

 

 

 

 

Promoting organic farming. Fada, Burkina Faso; Andy Aitchison

 

 

 

 

 

 

Queuing for school: Barry Perks

 

 

 

 

 

 

In school; Barry Perks