To limit the spread of Covid-19, the governments of Burkina Faso and Senegal have decided to close their borders in March 2020, restricting the movement of goods and people and cross-border trade.
Faced with these measures and the absolute necessity of survival, traders in cross-border areas are bypassing official checkpoints to continue the cross-border trade necessary for their survival and food security, despite the risk of gender-based violence (GBV). In the event of a pandemic, for countries with still fragile economies such as Burkina Faso and Senegal, selective sanitary measures should be applied instead to allow formal exchanges and the movement of food across borders.
