Remote data collection in conflict locations

Burkina Faso is undergoing a major crisis due to the intensification of armed groups' activities, inter-community tensions, food and nutrition insecurity, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The security crisis has led to the displacement of more than one million people since 2017, with more than two million people becoming increasingly dependent on humanitarian assistance. Together with UNICEF and Akvo, the WASH cluster of Burkina Faso developed a plan to identify WASH needs so that they could allocate resources and improve service delivery for those who needed it most.

Above: A map of the remote survey locations.

Akvo developed a remote data collection approach to gather information on WASH needs from key informants in the five regions of Burkina Faso with the largest number of displaced people. Key informants consisted of NGO workers, Internally Displaced Persons, school teachers, WASH focal points at the commune mayor's office, host community resource persons, and health workers. Akvo staff interviewed 93 key informants by telephone and collected their knowledge about the use of and access to water, sanitation and hygiene of the populations they represented.

52%

of host population informants reported that they were unable to reach their preferred waterpoint due to safety.

42%

of displaced population informants reported that they they were unable to reach their preferred waterpoint due to safety.

75%

of host population informants reported recent breakdowns of water points.

64%

of displaced population informants reported recent breakdowns of water points.

Through this remote survey, the team was able to safely collect important information representing key affected populations. For example, the data revealed that the majority of people in the communities, including the internally displaced, have boreholes with a human powered pump (HPP) as their main source of water. Additionally, the data showed that it generally takes more than 1h 30 min to fetch water and return home (including the waiting time). This means that most people need to go outdoors in order to get drinking water even though conflict may be in their path. This information, along with much more, allowed for a number of analyses to be conducted on access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation. The analyses led to action points for improving WASH services for displaced people and host communities in the 20 target communes in Burkina Faso.