In Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, the number of children in need is twice as large compared to 2020, according to the UN children’s fund Unicef.
– 2022 was a particularly violent year for the children in the Sahel. All warring parties must immediately stop attacks on children, their schools, hospitals and homes, Marie-Pierre Poirier, Unicef’s regional director for West and Central Africa, told AFP.
The armed conflicts in the Sahel region have become increasingly brutal and violent, according to Unicef.
In Burkina Faso, three times as many children were killed in the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, according to UN figures.
The vast majority of children lost their lives after being shot in attacks on their villages or injured by explosives left behind by the warring parties.