Security constraints, logistical challenges, and coverage of NGO food and nutrition assistance during the 2021–2023 security crisis in Yatenga Province, Burkina Faso

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Résumé

The security crisis affecting Burkina Faso since 2015 has considerably complicated humanitarian organizations’ access to vulnerable populations, particularly in the rural areas of Yatenga province in the north of the country. Mobilizing the literature on humanitarian access negotiation and the political economy of aid delivery in conflict settings, this study analyzes the security constraints and logistical challenges faced by fifteen non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in implementing food and nutrition assistance interventions, and their consequences for the coverage rate of assistance provided to internally displaced households. A mixed-methods approach was used, combining a documentary review, semi-structured interviews with program managers, and a structured survey of 200 displaced household heads, conducted between October and November 2023 in Ouahigouya. The results indicate that 71% of the study area presents limited or virtually impossible access owing to blockades and high-risk insecurity zones, which restricts effective aid coverage to about 71% of households with identified needs, for an estimated regional coverage rate of 53.8% of the total displaced population. Degraded transport infrastructure and movement restrictions imposed by the security context were identified as major obstacles to the regularity of distributions. These findings, consistent with other studies conducted in comparable Sahelian and cross-border contexts, and with the broader literature on humanitarian access negotiation with non-state armed actors, highlight the need to develop adaptive logistical strategies — local partnerships, decentralization of distribution points, use of geolocation — to improve access to the hardest-to-reach populations. The study concludes that strengthening the security of humanitarian operations, professionalizing access negotiation, and optimizing logistics constitute priority levers for closing the coverage gap observed in this context of prolonged crisis.

Mots-clés

humanitarian access; security constraints; logistics; access negotiation; food assistance coverage; Burkina Faso