Nations Unies

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

MEDIA ADVISORY

DEPUTY EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR RAMESH RAJASINGHAM TO VISIT AND WHO: Ramesh Rajasingham, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator WHAT: Mission to Burkina Faso and Senegal WHEN: 8-12 February 2021 WHERE: and field visits in Burkina Faso; in Senegal

A large-scale humanitarian emergency is unfolding in Burkina Faso where rising insecurity and conflict over the past two years have provoked the 's fastest-growing displacement crisis with more than a million people driven from their homes.

Humanitarian needs have increased sharply, and a record 3.5 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2021. The humanitarian problems in Burkina Faso have been further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.

ASG/DERC Rajasingham aims to draw international attention to the deteriorating situation in large parts of the country - caused mainly by non-state armed groups and inter-communal violence - and the need to sustain a robust humanitarian and development response.

During field visits, he will meet with internally displaced people, local authorities and national and international responders. He is also expected to meet national authorities and diplomatic representatives in Ouagadougou.

In Senegal, ASG/DERC Rajasingham is expected to meet key partners and regional donors based in Dakar.

Media opportunities will be organized during the mission. For more information, please contact Naomi Frerotte, Public Information Officer, OCHA Regional Office for West and Central , +221 776392138, +33620818715, [email protected]

For further information, please contact: In Burkina Faso: Naomi Frerotte, +221 776392138, +33620818715, [email protected] In Geneva: Jens Laerke, +41 79 472 9750, [email protected] In New York: Zoe Paxton , [email protected] OCHA press releases are available at www.unocha.org or www.reliefweb.int.

The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to coordinate the global emergency response to save lives and protect people in humanitarian crises. We advocate for effective and principled humanitarian action by all, for all. www.unocha.org