Bilingual in Chinese and French Women running for several litres of water a day in northern Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country located on the upper reaches of the Volta River in western Africa. Most of the territory is inland plateau, close to the Sahara Desert in the north.

Burkina Faso is one of the world's least developed countries and a major exporter of migrant workers from neighbouring African countries. Economically, agriculture and animal husbandry are the country, accounting for nearly eighty percent of the country's labor force. The country's resource-scarce location, desert edge, and small arable land is the only railway in the country that runs from the capital, Ouagadougou, to Côte d'Ivoire. In 2021, Burkina Faso's GDP was US$20.1 billion, with a per capita GDP of US$909.5, representing a GDP growth rate of 3.9%.

In northern Burkina Faso, women's daily battle for a few litres of water

Women running for several liters of water a day in northern Burkina Faso

The sun is barely rising over Ouahigouya and, already, the round of women is alive around the fountains of this large city in northern Burkina Faso. Some watch for the gurgling of empty pipes, others hurry with their plastic cans in front of the first trickles of water. You juggle between the pipe and your baby in the back. You hang a few jerricans filled to the brim on your bike or you pile them into a cart, which you will still have to carry at arm's length to your home.

As soon as the sun rises in Ouahigouya, a large town in northern Burkina Faso, the women of the town are already gathered around the fountain. Some waited for the gurgling of empty water pipes, while others hurried to the first canal with their own plastic buckets. A man maneuvers between a water pipe and a baby on his back, hanging several plastic buckets full of plastic buckets on a bicycle and piling them into a trolley. She also had to carry the buckets back to her home far away.

11 a.m. Under the dry and dusty breath of the harmattan, Awa Sawadogo drags a large metal barrel on a tire cart, in sector 1 of Ouahigouya. She only has a few meters to walk to the fountain in her neighborhood, but this is her third round trip of the day. In the ochre earthen courtyard of his rented house, the tap connected to the public distribution network never worked.

At 11 a.m., as the West African arid winds swept up a puff of dust, Awa Sawadogo struggled to pull the large metal bucket on her tire car, and with a few meters to go, she could walk to the community's fountain. This is her third trip to fetch water today. In the ochre-red yard she rents, the faucets that are supposed to supply the public water source never work.

"No choice," retorts this 40-year-old woman, trying to forget her back that hurts and her wrist sore from an old fracture. There are nineteen of them at home and the reserves dry up quickly. She had to flee Barga, a village further north, on foot after a terrorist attack a year ago. Since then, her husband's other wife has been staying at home because she is too afraid to go out. He wanders around town, looking for a job. When she is not looking for water, Awa Sawadogo sells spice bags on the street to buy her barrels of water at 150 CFA francs (0.20 euros) per 200 liters and enough to make meals. In Barga, water from the well in front of his yard was free. This former peasant woman never lacked it to water her fields with millet. In the city, "the land is too poor to cultivate," she laments.

"There was no choice," says Sawadogo, 40, trying to ignore the pain in his back and broken wrist. There were nineteen people in her family, and supplies ran out quickly. Because of a terrorist attack a year ago, Sawadogo had to flee on foot to the village of Barga, further north, and since then, her husband's other wife has stayed at home for fear of going out, and she has had to wander around town in search of work. In his free time, Sawadogo sells bags of spices on the street in exchange for money to buy bottled water that costs 150 CFA francs per 200 liters, as well as ingredients for cooking. In Barga, water is free from the well in front of her yard, and there is never a shortage of water to irrigate the millet fields, but in the city, "the land is too barren to grow crops."

Ouahigouya is thirsty. To reach the limits and avoid queues that can last several hours, women use strategies. Some drop off their cans in the night to reserve their place, before returning at dawn. The comings and goings drag on until the evening, encroaching on working time and, for the children, on their homework. Here, the poorest households have access to an average of only 7 litres of water per day per person, while the international standard recommends a minimum of 15 litres in emergency sites.

Ouahigouya is short of water. In order to get to the water point early and avoid hours of queues, the women adopted a number of strategies. Some left their plastic bucket occupancy at night before returning at dawn. Crowds come and go until the evening, greatly encroaching on working hours, and children have no time to do homework. The poorest households here receive an average of only 7 litres of water per day, compared with at least 15 litres in emergency sites by international standards.

Faced with growing demand, the public network, already dilapidated, is saturated and wears out quickly. The National Office for Water and Sanitation (Onea), responsible for distribution in the cities, is obliged to alternate the days of supply by sector. "It is crucial to maintain good pressure in the terminals to avoid queues. But the more we pump, the more the water table drops and the flow decreases," explains Thierry Dikoume, a water specialist at the NGO Solidarités International, which carries out infrastructure rehabilitation and repair operations in the region. In Ouahigouya, one of the last refuge areas in the region, the flow of displaced people is such that new arrivals are now forced to settle in neighborhoods not connected to the drinking water and electricity network.

In the face of growing demand, already dilapidated public networks are saturated and wear out rapidly. The National Water Authority, which is responsible for allocating water resources, has to divide the number of days of supply by region. "It is important to maintain pressure at the outlet to avoid long queues, but the more water we pump, the lower the water table and the less water from the tap", explains the water expert from the NGO International Solidarity". International Solidarity carries out infrastructure rehabilitation and repair operations throughout the region. Ouahigouya is one of the last refuges in the area, with an influx of displaced people and new arrivals settling in neighbourhoods without access to drinking water and electricity networks.

In this semi-arid region, hard hit by the climate crisis, drought is eating away at the land. In the warmer months, average temperatures exceed 40°C and water reservoirs dry up. A few kilometers from Ouahigouya, the Goinré dam, the city's main source of supply, remained dry from February to June, until the arrival of the first rains.

This semi-arid region, hit hard by the climate crisis, is watching drought erode more and more of its land. During the hot season, when the average temperature exceeds 40°C, the reservoir completely dries up. The Goinré Dam, a few kilometers from Ouahigouya, the town's main water source, dried up since February until the first rains fell in June.