For several years now, Burkina Faso has been facing an unprecedented security crisis that is profoundly weakening the foundations of its development, particularly affecting the education and health sectors and depriving vulnerable populations of their fundamental rights. Despite the initiatives undertaken by the government and its partners to mitigate the effects of this crisis, particularly through the recruitment and training of community-based health workers and community teachers, these interventions remain insufficient to address the structural vulnerability of these sectors. Research shows that strengthening the resilience and funding of basic social services has to be a key political priority.
Since 2014, Burkina Faso has been facing terrorist attacks that have often been attributed, among other things, to a lack of governance, massive youth unemployment and significant inequalities in access to opportunities. All these factors have contributed to a breach of trust between the rulers and the ruled. Beyond its serious humanitarian consequences, with more than 2 million internally displaced people across the entire territory as at March 31, 2023, this crisis has considerably weakened the capacity of the state and local governments to provide essential services. In this context, the real effects of this crisis on the education and health sectors are significant.
Closed schools, displaced students
The security crisis has significantly affected the education sector, resulting in the closure of school infrastructure and depriving thousands of children of an education. These closures peaked in 2022, with 6,253 closures, amounting to 23.98% of the country’s total number of schools. From 2021 to 2024 (March 31), this situation affected an average of 806,598 students per year, of whom 48.28% were girls and 51.72% were boys.
However, through the process of stabilization and the restoration of state authority in areas of high security challenges, schools have gradually been reopened. For example, as at March 31, 2024, 1,304 schools had been reopened — approximately one-quarter of the previously closed schools. Schools have also been relocated to ensure the continuity of educational services for the internally displaced students. Adaptation measures have also been necessary, such as the construction of temporary learning spaces and the use of external premises as classrooms. From 25 establishments being relocated in 2021, this number had increased to 559 by March 31, 2024.
The weakening of health services
Much like the education sector, the health sector has also been affected by the security crisis as health facilities have been forced to operate at minimal capacity or to close. This situation leaves a significant number of people in need of health services. From December 2019 to September 2024, the number of closed health facilities rose from 97 to 424, directly affecting access to care for an average of 2.5 million Burkinabés per year. However, efforts have been made to reopen some of these facilities. As of September 2024, 52 health facilities had reopened.
Nevertheless, a series of concrete actions have been implemented to enable the continuity of essential services and to guarantee their access to the population. Yet the impact of these measures on an already exhausted population still needs to be assessed.
Initial adaptation and resilience strategies in education and health
In the field of education, the various stakeholders have recruited and trained 880 community teachers, created a Technical Secretariat for Education in Emergency Situations (ST-ESU), set up classroom sites in host municipalities and introduced free education for internally displaced students (IDS) as well as academic support for them during school breaks. A National Strategy for Education in Emergency Situations (2019–2024) was also developed to ensure the care of displaced students. This strategy enables the monitoring of out-of-school children, distance learning (via radio and television), remedial classes and the adaptation of existing, open infrastructure.
In addition, Burkina Faso has supported the production of 260 new prefabricated classrooms, the construction of temporary learning spaces and the use of built, but not yet fully completed, classrooms.
To address the health challenges amid a security crisis, the stakeholders recruited and deployed 15,255 (as of December 2024) Community-Based Health Workers (CBHWs) to compensate for the forced departures of other health workers. The role of the Health Management Committees (COGES) was strengthened in the management, planning, and monitoring of health facilities through the adoption of the National Community Health Strategy (2024–2028) in May 2024, as well as the deployment of mobile clinics. The Ministry of Health also created a specific unit for emergency management, working in collaboration with national and international NGOs to develop flexible and crisis-adapted programs. The focus is placed on the central role of the Health and Social Promotion Centres (CSPS), which provide the Minimum Service Package (curative, preventive and promotional services that cover 90% of reasons for seeking medical care), with the support of locally recruited community liaison officers. These officers are accepted by the communities and capable of maintaining liaisons with the administration in areas difficult to access.
Despite these initiatives, persistent challenges remain. They raise the question of what concrete actions need to be strengthened to sustainably tackle insecurity and ensure the continuity of essential services for the benefit of the population.
Lessons learned from research
Beyond the case of Burkina Faso, the research on fragile and conflict-affected contexts highlights several essential conditions to ensure the continuity of basic social services.
First, the flexibility of the systems appears to be a key factor. Rigid approaches are poorly adapted to unstable environments, while flexible solutions like temporary schools, distance learning, mobile clinics, etc., help maintain service delivery. Second, community-based approaches play a central role. The use of local actors, such as community teachers or community-based health workers, makes the interventions and their effectiveness in hard-to-reach areas more acceptable to the people who live there. Furthermore, coordination between public and humanitarian actors and technical partners is essential to prevent the fragmentation of interventions and ensure a coherent and sustainable response. In addition, the availability of flexible and predictable funding is a key factor in ensuring service continuity in contexts marked by uncertainty. Finally, adaptive information systems that enable real-time data collection are critical to guide decisions and improve accountability.
The initiatives implemented in Burkina Faso are largely in line with these lessons. However, their effectiveness remains closely linked to security conditions. Additionally, the sustainable stabilization of reconquered areas is an essential condition to ensure the continuity of public services. It facilitates the gradual return of populations, which is essential for the viability of the education and health systems – organizations within these systems depend on the actual territorial presence of users.
Security and continuity of basic social services: two inseparable issues
A security-based approach cannot be relevant if it doesn’t explicitly incorporate social investments as levers for conflict prevention, particularly through the establishment of budget floors dedicated to education and health in the national budget.
Lastly, simple and digital tools should be provided to regularly gather feedback from communities. These tools should prioritize needs related to essential services such as education and health, as well as social cohesion and peacebuilding. Such an approach is an innovative strategy to strengthen local governance and restore trust between citizens, local authorities and the central government.
