- IMF approves fresh support for Burkina Faso as Middle East war fuels energy and fertiliser shock
The International Monetary Fund has approved fresh financial support for Burkina Faso after completing key programme reviews, even as the country faces renewed pressure from higher fuel and fertiliser prices triggered by the war in the Middle East.
The IMF Executive Board concluded the 2026 Article IV Consultation with Burkina Faso, completed the fifth review under the country’s Extended Credit Facility arrangement, approved a request to augment access under the programme, and completed the first review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility arrangement.
The approval enables an immediate disbursement of SDR 60.20 million under the Extended Credit Facility and SDR 16.42 million under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
The Fund said the augmentation of the Extended Credit Facility by 50.00% of quota, equivalent to SDR 60.20 million, raises total access under the arrangement to SDR 288.96 million, or 240.00% of quota. The disbursement brings total IMF support released under the ECF to SDR 180.60 million.
The Resilience and Sustainability Facility arrangement, approved by the IMF Executive Board on February 18, 2026, has total access of SDR 90.30 million. Completion of its first review allows the new SDR 16.42 million disbursement.
The IMF said Burkina Faso’s economy remained resilient in 2025 despite security and humanitarian pressures. Real GDP growth reached 5.30%, supported by higher mining activity as global gold prices strengthened. Average inflation declined to -0.50%, reflecting lower food and energy prices.
Strong gold exports also improved the country’s external position, shifting the current account from a deficit of 3.50% of GDP in 2024 to a surplus of 6.30% in 2025.
Fiscal performance exceeded expectations. Burkina Faso reduced its overall fiscal deficit from 5.80% of GDP in 2024 to 1.80% in 2025, compared with a programme objective of 4.00%. The Fund said the adjustment created useful policy space at a time of heightened global and regional volatility.
But the near-term outlook has weakened. The IMF warned that the sharp increase in international prices of fertiliser and petroleum products following the Middle East conflict has created immediate pressure on Burkina Faso’s balance of payments and food security.
It said the commodity shock, funding cuts for humanitarian aid, global supply disruptions and persistent security risks now cloud the country’s macroeconomic prospects.
“The augmentation of access under the ECF arrangement will help offset fertilizer and energy supply shocks linked to the war in the Middle East,” IMF Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair Kenji Okamura said after the Board discussion.
Programme performance under the ECF was described as strong. All quantitative performance criteria and all but two indicative targets were met. The authorities also implemented all structural benchmarks and made progress on public financial management and governance reforms.
The IMF said Burkina Faso had completed planned reforms under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility, including the adoption of a National Disaster Risk Finance Strategy and publication of climate hazard and risk maps.
Mr Okamura said Burkina Faso’s programme remained firmly on track, supported by reforms to strengthen governance and domestic revenue mobilisation, while promoting strategic investment and social safety nets.
He said fiscal consolidation remains critical to preserving macroeconomic stability, adding that energy subsidies should be targeted and temporary while health, education and social protection spending should be protected and prioritised in multiyear plans.
The IMF Executive Board said a temporary relaxation of the fiscal stance was warranted to cushion recent external shocks, while maintaining commitment to medium-term convergence to the West African Economic and Monetary Union fiscal deficit criterion.
The Fund projects Burkina Faso’s real GDP growth to slow to 3.60% in 2026, before recovering to 4.80% from 2027 through 2030. Inflation is projected to average 4.20% in 2026, before easing to 4.00% in 2027 and 2.00% from 2028.
The country’s fiscal deficit is expected to widen to 4.00% of GDP in 2026, before narrowing to 3.30% in 2027 and 3.00% from 2028. Public debt is projected to decline from 53.40% of GDP in 2025 to 52.80% in 2026 and 48.30% by 2030.
The IMF also urged the authorities to strengthen debt management, pursue concessional financing where possible, protect priority social and development spending, and maintain transparency in the use of crisis-related resources.
Directors further encouraged Burkina Faso to adopt a countercyclical fiscal framework to help shield public finances from gold price volatility, given the growing importance of gold to exports and fiscal performance.
For Burkina Faso, the Fund’s latest approval provides near-term financing relief and policy endorsement. But the outlook remains exposed to the same pressures that have shaped much of the Sahel’s recent economic story: insecurity, climate shocks, high import costs, limited humanitarian financing and the challenge of turning resource-led growth into broader development gains.
