The World Food Programme has recently approved about US $1.6-million for an emergency operation to feed some 15,000 people originating from Burkina Faso who were forced to flee Cote d'Ivoire in November after a land dispute.
WFP aims to distribute at least 2,300 mt of food between March and November to cover the needs of the displaced population until the next harvest. At least 70 percent of them are women and children, the WFP said.
"During their flight, these people left behind all their possessions and most of them are completely destitute," Stefano Porretti, the WFP Deputy Country Director in Burkina Faso, said.
The displaced people reportedly fled neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire because of extreme insecurity and many said they were victims of vandalism. Most want to return to Cote d'Ivoire to recover their property and resume their lives there but this appears unlikely in the near future, WFP said.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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