Burkina Faso "Land of the Upright"
Burkina Faso in West Africa is characterised by great tolerance in ethnic and religious matters, with more than 60 ethnic groups co-existing largely peacefully there. This is also reflected in the country's name: in translation, the terms "Burkina" and "Faso", which are taken from the two most widely spoken languages in the country, mean "Land of the Upright".
Since the early 1990s, Burkina Faso has been gradually embracing more democracy. However, the country has experienced a significant deterioration in the security situation, which, for some time now, has been hampering political, economic and social development. In many parts of the country, particularly in the north and east, Islamist groups have repeatedly launched terrorist attacks, which are threatening to weaken political stability and peaceful coexistence in society.
Another major challenge facing Burkina Faso is the high level of population growth. The population growth rate is making it difficult for policymakers to reduce poverty, create sufficient jobs, establish food security and give all people access to drinking water, energy, health care services and education facilities.
German development cooperation with Burkina Faso
Germany is Burkina Faso's second largest bilateral donor, after France, and an important partner.
At the government negotiations between the two countries in September 2020, Germany committed funds amounting to 71.45 million euros to Burkina Faso. Of that amount, 21.7 million euros was earmarked for projects under the ONE WORLD – No Hunger initiative.
Development cooperation between Germany and Burkina Faso focuses on the following three core areas:
- Transformation of agri-food systems
Areas of intervention: agriculture and rural development - Peaceful and inclusive societies
Areas of intervention: good governance and conflict prevention - Conserving nature and natural resources, protecting life on Earth
Area of intervention: water
Children in Burkina Faso
The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) also supports respect for children's and young people's rights in Burkina Faso. The aim is to protect socially disadvantaged children and young people against the worst forms of child labour, child trafficking and gender-based violence. The setting up of school networks, community-based social services and education and training programmes are to help improve their future prospects. Furthermore, sexuality education programmes are to help reduce the number of unwanted early pregnancies.
Finally, the BMZ is making available to Burkina Faso's finance ministry advisory support on à good financial governance, the aim of which is to make budgetary processes and public control of the budget more professional and transparent.
Transitional development assistance
Burkina Faso is a transitional development assistance focus country. Together with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the BMZ developed the initiative for resilience in the Sahel to bring about sustained improvements in the food and income situations of people in Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Chad. The support ranges from providing food for school meals to rehabilitating agricultural land.
