Burkina Faso: Request for Disbursement Under the Rapid Credit Facility-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Burkina Faso

The paper presents Burkina Faso’s Request for Disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). This emergency financing under the Food Shock Window will help Burkina Faso address urgent balance of payment needs related to the global food crisis and mitigate the impact of the food shock on the most vulnerable. The authorities’ crisis response appropriately focuses on providing immediate food assistance to affected households, preventing malnutrition and improving drinking water supply, and protecting livestock and animal husbandry. The plans to prepare progress reports and audits on the implementation of the cash transfer program and all food emergency spending are important. Identification and publication of the beneficial owners of entities awarded public procurement contracts related to measures to address the food crisis would be key. The post-coronavirus disease 2019 economic recovery was disrupted by deteriorating security conditions, political uncertainty, and rising foodstuff prices because of Russia’s war in Ukraine, worsening the ongoing food crisis and weighing on the budget. Economic recovery in 2023 will depend on financing conditions, the security situation, and on efforts to mobilize domestic revenues to ensure priority public expenditure and public debt sustainability.