Challenges

According to national statistics compiled by UNHCR, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger collectively recorded 2,752,550 internally displaced people at the end of 2023. Of this total, 75 per cent were in Burkina Faso, 12 per cent in Niger, and 13 per cent in Mali. Many of these individuals had been displaced multiple times due to various factors: the effects of terrorist acts by radicalized armed groups, community conflicts, climate change, and the pandemic, which had macroeconomic repercussions.

These displaced people now live in host communities that are under strong demographic pressure, affecting the use of basic social resources and services such as health, education, drinking water, sanitation, and energy. The host populations have difficulties to cope with these arrivals as local and national capacities are close to being exceeded. Despite this, the support of the international community is mainly focused on security issues for refugees and humanitarian interventions, to the detriment of development initiatives for internally displaced people and host communities.

Toward a Solution

This project aimed to restore hope and support vulnerable internally displaced people and host communities who share similar cultural backgrounds and challenges across three countries. The objectives were to improve their livelihood opportunities, access to education and health services, and to strengthen security and human rights protection, with a focus on climate-smart agriculture and the needs of young people and women.

The project’s methodology involved implementing various activities simultaneously in the three countries. To increase income generation and livelihood opportunities for displaced people, the project strengthened the professional capacities of vulnerable out-of-school displaced individuals and promoted their socio-economic integration in host communities. It improved women’s abilities to create and manage income-generating activities (IGAs) and integrated displaced people into existing small farmer groups and cooperatives. As a result, people affected by displacement became aware of agroecology and other actions promoting sustainable natural resource management.

The project also implemented measures to improve access to quality basic services, support education for children and literacy for displaced people (young people, women, and men), and raise awareness among displaced adolescents about reproductive health. It strengthened municipal councilors’ knowledge on protecting displaced people and incorporating their needs into local development plans of host municipalities.

Key results achieved across the three countries include:

1. Economic livelihood development:

• 26,189 people were made aware of environmental issues
• 618 vegetable gardeners benefited from secure and equipped areas
• 647 women affected by displacement benefited from business development programmes

1. Integrated service provision:

• 900 children gained access to the national primary education system
• 300 children accessed secondary education
• 1,944 displaced women were informed about new contraception methods

1. Protection:

• 265 municipal councilors providing services were trained to respond to displaced people’s specific needs and vulnerabilities
• 4 local development plans were updated

This project exemplifies an evolved model of South-South cooperation, extending beyond state-to-state interactions to include partnerships between local NGOs from a number of different Southern countries. These organizations collaborated to pursue common development goals through knowledge and skills exchange. The project also demonstrates triangular cooperation, with funding provided by the European Union via the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). This approach facilitated the exchange of best practices, improved implementation through shared lessons, and increased visibility among other agencies and donors operating in the area.

The sustainability of this intervention was ensured through a scalable microcredit strategy using village savings and loan associations (VSLAs) for the sustainable integration of displaced women into local farmers organizations. Additionally, the adoption of ecological agricultural techniques and green energy (solar motor pumps) by host communities and displaced people contributes to environmental sustainability. Investing in education and vocational training for young people provides them with transferable skills and knowledge applicable across the three countries.

This model of South-South and triangular cooperation, focusing on strong partnerships between local NGOs working in border areas of neighboring countries, is particularly recommended in contexts where state-level South-South cooperation is challenging, too politicized, or slow. Supporting local NGOs with agile processes can yield positive development results in such situations.