UNHCR to Lead Comprehensive Response to Increasing Influx of Burkinabe Refugees.
The UNHCR has emphasized the urgent need for a comprehensive reception strategy to respond to the increasing influx of Burkina Faso refugees to Ghana, due to the worsening security situation caused by suspected jihadist attacks. This displacement has resulted in refugees seeking asylum in Ghana, particularly in some parts of the Upper East Region, posing security threats and a humanitarian crisis.
The UNHCR plans to declare a UN level one emergency to assist Ghana in preparing adequately and putting in place a contingency plan regarding the effects of events in Burkina Faso on Ghana. This will enable Ghana, especially border communities, to handle a larger number of refugees and provide relief to the victims and the host communities.
Miss Esther Kiragu, Country Representative, UNHCR, led a team to some refugee camps at Sapeliga in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region. The refugee crisis put untold pressure on food, water and other social amenities in the communities and could worsen if the situation in Burkina Faso does not improve.
A stakeholder forum will take place with government operatives in Accra from the Ministry of the Interior, Ghana Refugee Board, and authorities from Upper East and Upper West Regions, down to the districts to map out the kind of strategies needed to deal with the situation that is evolving in Burkina Faso.
Mr Tetteh Padi, Executive Secretary of the Ghana Refugee Board, expressed gratitude to host communities and noted that the board would continue to work with stakeholders to respond to the needs of the refugees, especially providing them with interim needs, including water, shelter and food.
Naba Emmanuel Ayagiba Abangiba, Chief of Sapeliga, said some Burkinabes had fled their homes to settle in the communities and the situation continued to pose a security risk to the residents. He appealed for security to be strengthened along the border to provide support to the refugees to live better.
Currently, more than 4,000 Burkinabes have fled from Bugri, Zoago, and Zabre, among others, after their homes were attacked by suspected jihadists.
The first Burkinabe arrived to settle at Sapeliga about four years ago. Many of the refugees arrived in Ghana within the last two years, and more in the last month when the situation worsened, and the majority of whom are women and children spread across communities, including Widnaba, Soogo, Sapeliga, Kansoogo, Googo, and Bansi in the Bawku Municipal, Bawku West, and Binduri Districts.