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Hunger · Burkina Faso

Child malnutrition in Sahel

37%of children under five stunted (2021 survey)Very high

Sahel ranks 1st of 14 parts of Burkina Faso for child stunting, above Burkina Faso's 23%.

14%children under 5 wasted; Burkina Faso 11%
31%children under 5 underweight; Burkina Faso 18%
87%children 6-59 months anaemic; Burkina Faso 72%

Child stunting across Burkina Faso

The same 2021 survey, every part it reports.

  1. 1Sahel37%
  2. 2Est32%
  3. 3Centre-Nord27%
  4. 4Boucle de Mouhoun25%
  5. 5Centre-Est25%
  6. 6Nord24%
  7. 7Centre-Ouest22%
  8. 8Plateau Central22%
  9. 9Cascades21%
  10. 10Sud-Ouest20%
  11. 11Centre-Sud18%
  12. 12Hauts Bassins16%
  13. 13Centre (including Ouagadougou)15%
  14. 14Ouagadougou14%

Frequently asked questions

What is the child malnutrition rate in Sahel?

In Burkina Faso's 2021 Demographic and Health Survey, 37% of children under five in Sahel were stunted (too short for their age), 14% wasted and 31% underweight.

Is malnutrition in Sahel worse than in the rest of Burkina Faso?

Sahel ranks 1st of 14 for stunting in the survey, highest first, above Burkina Faso's 23%.

How many children are anaemic in Sahel?

87% of children aged 6 to 59 months in Sahel had anaemia in 2021, above Burkina Faso's 72%; WHO counts 40% or more as a severe public health problem.

Is there data for cities and towns in Sahel?

The survey reports Burkina Faso by region, not by city, so a town or neighbourhood in Sahel shares these figures. Local clinics and nutrition programmes keep their own records.

Source: Burkina Faso Demographic and Health Survey 2021 (BF2021DHS), via The DHS Program, STATcompiler. Survey estimates for small regions carry wide margins; read differences of a few points as similar.

Hunger in Burkina Faso as a whole

Undernourishment, food insecurity, the Global Hunger Index and the UN's latest estimates for the country.

Hunger in Burkina Faso