UNHCR Set To Champion Comprehensive Respond To Increasing Influx of Burkinabe Refugees

In order to deal with the growing flood of Burkinabe refugees into Ghana, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN agency for refugees, has emphasized the urgent need for a thorough welcoming strategy.

It said that as a result of attacks by alleged jihadists, the security situation in Burkina Faso had gotten worse and that refugees continued to seek refuge in Ghana, particularly in some areas of the Upper East Region, creating a security concern and humanitarian disaster.

In order to help the government fully prepare and implement a contingency plan regarding the implications of events in Burkina Faso on Ghana, the UNHCR has prepared to declare a UN category one emergency.

Also, being prepared to handle an increase in the number of refugees and offer aid to the displaced people and the host communities would benefit the nation, particularly border areas.

When she led a team of UNHCR employees and representatives of the Ghana Refugee Board to certain refugee camps at Sapeliga in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region, Ms. Esther Kiragu, the country representative for UNHCR, informed the media of these facts.

The Country Representative outlined how the refugee crisis put enormous strain on community resources including food, water, and other social services, and warned that things could get worse if Burkina Faso’s circumstances did not change.

“Next week, we will be having a stakeholder forum 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 we need to deal with the situation that is evolving in Burkina Faso,” she iterated.

In order to ensure the welfare of the refugees and the communities were protected, Ms. Kiragu highlighted that the strategy should be built on a community-based approach, with the host communities at the forefront of the responding actions.

“One pressing issue that will concern every parent is the young kids who are doing nothing. We will be using a community-based approach to see how they can be absolved in school,” she pointed out.