Nutritional Health of Internally Displaced Women and Children in Burkina Faso

Nutritional Health of Internally Displaced Women and Children in Burkina Faso

The Sahel region of Africa is affected by countless levels of security, nutrition, climate degradation. Interregional migration streams in French West Africa are primarily economic migrants seeking employment. The remaining migrants are victims of natural disasters, violence, and conflict. This research focused specifically on the current research gap on the migration of people from Mali to Burkina Faso and looked specifically at the nutrition of women in refugee camps in Burkina Faso to find possible links to radicalization. We also investigated some of the early insights into how the COVID-19 pandemic impactd the refugee food crisis. We found that half of women and children in the refugee population do not meet their daily calories required for a healthy lifestyle, resulting in chronic illnesses and underweight children, keeping them in a vicious cycle. Food provided in refugee camps is often different than the traditional diet of people living in the Sahel. The rise of extremist groups in Sub-Saharan Africa influences the growing unemployed youth population in refugee camps to join as a means of survival. Possible solutions to this crisis were also assessed, including the food ATMs, Ready-to-use Therapeutic Foods, and policy changes implemented in countries such as Uganda. Possible solutions includes all of these alternatives, which focus on primary research. Finally, innovative future research could focus on alternative solutions to make refugees self-sufficient.