Disasters, Conflicts and Migration

For a more detailed database on disasters by country, please see the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters Country Profile.

Seasonal Effects on Logistics Capacities

In Burkina Faso, the climate is tropical, with a rainy season in the summer months due to the African monsoon (June to September), and a dry season in winter. In the north, the rainy season is shorter and less intense, so the climate is semi-arid, while in the south the rains last longer. The temperatures in Burkina Faso are high throughout the year. During winter season, the air is dry due to the northeast winds with temperatures around 30/32 °C in the north and 32/33 °C in the south. The prevailing wind, called Harmattan, blows from the north-east and can lift dust, making the sky whitish, but it can also cause real sandstorms. Storms can also occur in spring because of the clash with moist air masses.

During the rainy season, offloading of trucks is taking more time due to the weather conditions and there is a higher risk of offloading damaged cargo if not well protected and covered at the departure point. Additional activities of repacking can occur to replace damaged items during offloading.

Capacity and Contacts for In-Country Emergency Response

Government

Placed under the technical and administrative supervision of the Ministry in charge of Social Action and National Solidarity and under the financial supervision of the Ministry in charge of the Economy and Finance,  the Conseil National de Secours d’Urgence et de Réhabilitation (CONASUR) is responsible for working to prevent disasters, manage emergency relief and rehabilitation and ensures coordination and guidance in the field of prevention disaster, emergency relief management and rehabilitation. The CONASUR is the national platform for the prevention and management of disasters and humanitarian crises with the aim to work in closed collaboration with all humanitarian actors, on issues related to the convergence of actions for poverty reduction, adaptation to climate change and disaster risk reduction, to strengthening the resilience of populations made vulnerable by socio-political-economic systems and climate change including climate variability and extreme events.

Additional governmental agencies are interacting within the humanitarian action in country such as:

• The Société nationale de gestion des stocks de sécurité alimentaire (SONAGESS) is in charge of managing the national food stock security.
• SP-PAM in charge of the administration, management, monitoring-evaluation and control of food aid from the World Food Programme (WFP).

For more information on government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Government Contact List.

Humanitarian Community

As of April 2021, 67 organizations were operating in the country implementing 157 (shelter, wash, protection, nutrition, health, food security, refugees).
As per an OCHA report issued on 26/07/21, the number of internally displaced persons in Burkina Faso has risen to 1,312,071. This increase in numbers is due to the increase in security incidents. This unpredictable and unprecedented increase in incidents targeting the civilian population has been observed since the beginning of the second quarter of 2021 (…) The Central North, Sahel and Eastern regions continue to be the most affected. People are moving to communities in dire humanitarian need, but humanitarian response capacity remains limited. According to analyses by the Rapid Response Coordination Group (GCORR), only 20% of displacement alerts are fully responded to. The humanitarian community remains committed to supporting the Government in responding to humanitarian challenges.

For more information on humanitarian agency contact details, please see the following link: 4.2 Humanitarian Agencies Contact List.

Regional Organizations and Trade Agreements

Burkina Faso is a member of WTO (since 1995), GATT (since 1963) including the below organizations:

• Economic Comission of West African States (ECOWAS): this organization aims to promote cooperation and integration. It aims to establish an economic union in west Africa to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations among member states, and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent.
• West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).
• ISO: the Agence Burkinabè de Normalisation, de la Métrologie et de la qualité (ABNORM) is responsible for developing standards. One of ABNORM’s key objectives is to cover all Burkina Faso’s priority sectors for standardization (food, electro-technical, environmental, building and civil engineering sectors).

Regulatory Agencies

Burkina Faso has numerous regulatory bodies to set standards of the economy and then to enforce those standards:

Pharmaceutical

The Agence Nationale de la Régulation Pharmaceutique (ANRP), the main objectives are to guarantee access to quality, safe, effective and accessible health products for the entire population.

Telecommunication

The Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes(ARCEP) the main missions are to monitor compliance with regulations and commitments made by network operators and service providers, internet DNS domain management, approval of imported/local made electronic equipment or radio frequencies management.

Energy

Autorité de Régulation du Sous-secteur de l’Electricité (ARSE) a public establishment under to the Ministry of Energy with the aim to contribute to the proper functioning of the electricity sector through the regulation of production, operation, transport, distribution, sale, export and import activities of electricity throughout of the national territory.

Fuel

The Comité Interministériel de Détermination des Prix des Hydrocarbures (CIDPH) is a decision-making support structure that the government has set up to make relevant proposals to determine the price of hydrocarbons month after month in country.

Civil Aviation Authority

The Agence Nationale de l’Aviation Civile (ANAC) in charge of the regulation, supervision and control of civil aviation activities in country.

Laboratory and Quality Testing Companies

Laboratoire National de Santé Publique (LNSP)

LNSP is a public establishment under to the Ministry of Health responsible for the quality control of health products, food, water and beverages pesticides, cosmetics, tobacco, and cigarettes (and all other products and articles likely to constitute threats to health). LNSP controls are followed by the issuance of a sanitary quality certificate.

Institut de Recherche en Science Appliquée et Technologie/ Département de Technologie Alimentaire (IRSAT/DTA)

• Research & development in food and nutritional sector
• Food quality control
• Supporting the Agri-food industry development
• Technology and skills transfer
• Promotion of equipment and processes in the food industry Consulting support for the implementation of the quality approach
  
  

Laboratoires des Universités publiques du Burkina (UJKZ, UNB)

• Initial training and research in the food and nutritional sector
• Food quality Control
• Consulting support for the implementation of the quality approach

Agence National de Biosécurité (ANB)

• GMOs Quality Control

Laboratoire National de l’Elevage (LNE)

• Food Quality control of animal origin
• Search for chemical residues in food of animal origin
• Control of the microbiological quality of animal feed
• Conducting research in the field of food safety
• Zoonotic disease surveillance
• Training of farmed technicians
  
  

Public and governmental laboratories

• ONEA (Office National de l’Eau et de l’Assainissement)
• SONABEL (Société Nationale d’Electricité du Burkina)
• Private structures
• AINA Laboratories: perform physiochemical and bacteriological analyzes, water sanitation.

Inspection Companies

Local companies like Groupe CEM or Tecal-Sate are assisting in quality control through food testing at vendor’s location prior delivery at customer ‘s warehouse. Their agents called “superintendent” are collecting samples to run laboratory analysis then provide advice according to the lab results. They also monitor loading and/or unloading operations by checking weight and visual aspect of the goods. International companies like Bureau Veritas and SGS are also operating in country and offer an extensive range of services from testing (bacteriological and chemical sampling analyses and quality analyses of submitted samples) inspection (supervision of loading and discharging), audit and certifications.

Pre-shipment Inspection

From September 2018 there is no longer a requirement for pre-shipment inspection to enable goods to be imported into Burkina Faso.

For more information on regulatory departments and quality control laboratories’ contact details, please see the following links: 4.1 Government Contact List and 4.3 Laboratory and Quality Testing Company Contact List.

Duties and Tax Exemption

For contact information regarding government custom authorities, please follow the link below: 4.1 Government Contact List.

Emergency Response

Exemption Regular Regime (Non-Emergency Response)

United Nation Agencies and NGOs are defined in fiscal terms as non-profit organizations participating in the implementation of the development aid of the Government. Indeed, as they are performing public service missions normally under to the State, they benefit from certain favors on their investment made for the benefit of the populations. As a result, in accordance with the Establishment Convention signed with the DGCOOP, UN agencies and NGO are exempted from taxes, duties and customs duties for the purchase of goods and services necessary for activities carried out for the benefit of the populations. However, any profitable activities are excluded.

• Tax exemption is based on article 31 of the agreement establishment signed between the Government and UN agencies/NGO in Burkina Faso. They are exempted of the VTA in accordance with the Letter #2055/ MEF/ 25/11/1996, law #06-2010 dated on January 29, 2010.
• Customs duties exemption is based on article 30 of the agreement establishment signed between the Government and UN agencies/NGO.

Exemption Certificate Application Procedure

Exemption Certificate Document Requirements

Customs Clearance

General Information

Customs Clearance Document Requirements

Transit Regime

During international transit in Burkina, the authorized customs agent delegated for this operation must fill and obtain a IM8 form called “Déclaration de Transit” at the entry border. Once obtained, the Customs release the cargo then date of departure is recorded within their system. A grace period from 48 to 96 hours is granted to the transporter to reach the exit border with an escort appointed during the journey (cost is 15 000 FCFA). In case of accident or breakdown, the transporter must inform immediately the escort or any relevant local authority otherwise a fine will be applied at the exit border. Escort is only applicable for sensitive/high value cargo (pharmaceuticals, arms, oil. etc).