The World Bank has announced a $120 million financing package to expand social protection and economic inclusion programmes for poor and vulnerable households in Burkina Faso.
The package includes a $100 million credit from the International Development Association and a $20 million grant from the Sahel Adaptive Social Protection Programme. The initiative is expected to support 120,000 beneficiaries over five years.
The Economic Empowerment Support Programme for Poor and Vulnerable Households will assist low-income families, internally displaced people and returnees facing economic hardship and insecurity.
Beneficiaries will receive a combination of cash support, vocational training, productive assets and financial services to help them establish sustainable livelihoods and reduce long-term dependence on humanitarian assistance.
The programme will also support income-generating activities, food security, nutrition, healthcare access and women’s economic empowerment. These measures aim to improve employment opportunities and strengthen household resilience.
Burkina Faso continues to face one of the Sahel region’s largest displacement crises, with more than two million people internally displaced. This has increased pressure on healthcare, education, social assistance and other essential public services.
To improve the delivery of support, the government will expand its national social registry and connect it with databases covering displaced populations and the national health insurance system.
The integrated system is expected to help authorities identify eligible households more accurately, prevent duplication and direct public resources towards people with the greatest needs.
The new financing builds on the Burkina Naong Sa Ya Social Safety Nets Project, which operated between 2014 and 2024 and reached more than one million people.
That earlier project established Burkina Faso’s first national social registry, which has become an important part of the country’s social assistance system and will support implementation of the new programme.
The initiative aligns with Burkina Faso’s National Social Protection Strategy for 2024–2028 and the World Bank’s priorities for job creation, human capital development and resilience.
By combining immediate assistance with skills, productive resources and financial inclusion, the programme aims to help vulnerable households build sustainable incomes and cope more effectively with insecurity, displacement and climate-related risks.
