Belgian cooperation in Burkina Faso

Governmental cooperation between Belgium and Burkina Faso is part of a long-standing partnership, structured since 1993, but it was interrupted in 2004 and relaunched in 2015 with the reintegration of Burkina Faso among the partner countries of Belgian cooperation. Since then, Belgium has been structurally supporting the socio-economic development, stability and resilience of the country.

After a €15 million start-up programme (2016-2018) focusing on access to safe drinking water and sanitation as well as women's reproductive health and empowerment, a €45 million bilateral programme has been implemented over the period 2019-2023. This focused on entrepreneurship and employment, social cohesion, health and skills building, mainly in the Centre-East region.

The current bilateral cooperation programme (2023-2027) concentrates Belgian action in the Centre-East, East, Centre-North and Central Plateau regions. It aims to sustainably strengthen the socio-economic resilience of vulnerable populations, equitable access to basic social services and social cohesion. The priorities for intervention focus on the empowerment of young people and women, access to health, education, water and sanitation, conflict prevention and management, as well as integrated and inclusive urban and territorial planning. This bilateral cooperation carried out by the Belgian development agency, ENABEL, with a territorial, multisectoral and flexible approach, integrating a humanitarian-development-peace approach (NEXUS), with a particular focus on women, young people and internally displaced persons in Burkina Faso.

Belgian non-governmental cooperation in Burkina Faso is an essential pillar of Belgian action and is based on close and lasting partnerships with local civil society organisations. Support for Burkinabe civil society is provided through Belgian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) accredited to Burkina Faso. For the period 2022-2026, 22 Belgian NGOs are implementing five-year programmes for a total amount of around €40 million, in collaboration with Burkinabe actors and public institutions. New programmes are being prepared for the period 2027-2030.

The current programmes focus on strengthening sustainable family farming and food security, integrating environmental and climate issues, improving the inclusive health and well-being of populations as well as access to water, hygiene and sanitation, access to education, vocational training and quality culture,  as well as the strengthening of participatory and inclusive territorial governance. The central objective remains to strengthen the capacities of civil society in order to contribute sustainably to the reduction of inequalities and the resilience of populations.

University cooperation is a historical and strategic pillar of Belgian cooperation in Burkina Faso. Structuring partnerships between Belgian universities and several Burkinabe universities and research centres are implemented through a five-year programme (2022-2026) coordinated by the Academy for Research and Higher Education (ARES) contributing to the sustainable strengthening of the country's academic, scientific and institutional capacities, in particular through scholarship programmes (Masters & Doctorates),  and applied research and institutional support. A new 2027-2030 programme is being prepared.

Belgium supports the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in Burkina Faso through its multilateral cooperation, mainly through a policy of unearmarked financial contributions ("core funding") to international organisations and United Nations agencies. This approach allows for flexible targeting and adaptation to priority needs in a context marked by multiple crises.

Specific projects are also funded focusing on specific themes such as the climate change adaptation project of 5.138 million euros, implemented by the FAO, for a period of four years, and the social protection project implemented by the ILO, 2 million euros over 2 years.

Since 2019, the humanitarian situation in Burkina Faso has been under increasing pressure, leading to an increase in the needs of vulnerable populations. Belgium contributes to the non-targeted humanitarian flexible funds of international humanitarian organisations (WFP, UNHAS, OCHA, UNHCR, IOM, ICRC) in order to ensure a rapid and effective response, but Belgium also supports targeted humanitarian interventions, such as the Regional Humanitarian Fund for West and Central Africa (FHRAOC) and the humanitarian projects of Belgian NGOs. Particular attention is paid to the protection of populations, the local anchoring of interventions and coherence with the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (HDP) approach, which Belgium actively supports.

Belgian humanitarian action is part of an international coordination framework led by the United Nations and the Humanitarian Donor Group (HDG) and aims to strengthen synergies between humanitarian aid, development and peace. This integrated approach makes it possible to support the resilience of populations and to contribute to sustainable responses, adapted to local contexts.

Support for the private sector is a complementary lever for Belgian cooperation in Burkina Faso, in the service of inclusive growth that creates jobs. This support is provided through the Belgian investment fund: BIO-INVEST, which provides loans to small and medium-sized enterprises and financial institutions that contribute to the country's socio-economic growth.

Belgium has granted concessional loans to Burkina Faso to finance equipment or services related to Belgian companies. Two projects are underway in the field of drinking water.

Burkina Faso has remained a priority country in the cooperation policy of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation for more than twenty years. Programmes are implemented in the areas of water, environment, health, culture and human rights.

The Union of Cities and Municipalities of Wallonia and its partners develop international municipal cooperation programmes between Belgian and Burkinabe municipalities, particularly in the fields of civil status and local governance.

Belgium supports the Burkinabe cultural sector through AFRICALIA, a specialised non-profit organisation created by the Belgian cooperation for this purpose. It supports artists, cultural entrepreneurs and creative and structuring cultural networks. This support contributes to the dynamism of the sector, the country's cultural influence and the development of the cultural and creative industries.

The financing of initiatives carried out by private associations with their own funds remains particularly dynamic in Burkina Faso and complements the action of institutional and non-governmental actors.