Child Begging in the Sahel: A Crisis of Poverty and Exploitation

• Child begging has become a normalized, everyday reality in major Sahelian cities like Niamey, Bamako, and Ouagadougou.
• A convergence of extreme poverty, security instability, and climate crises has exacerbated the vulnerability of children, forcing them into exploitation.
• Official inaction and the misuse of religious traditions are turning a humanitarian tragedy into a long-term regional stability threat.

The Plight of Talibé Children

• Talibé children, officially sent to Quranic schools for education, are frequently exploited as sources of income through forced begging.
• In Mali, more than 20,000 children are forced to beg, with 43 percent being girls; similar patterns exist in Niger and Burkina Faso.
• Children face daily threats of physical violence, chronic hunger, and denial of basic education, with many recruited by armed groups due to their extreme marginalization.

Societal and Structural Drivers

• Poverty rates remain alarmingly high, with nearly half of the populations in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger living below the poverty line.
• Cultural sensitivity around Quranic schools often shields the practice from government oversight, leaving it as a low political priority.
• While some localized bans have been attempted, they lack supporting social infrastructure or alternative solutions for the affected families and schools.

Implications for Regional Stability

• The phenomenon is not merely local; it is linked to broader migration trends and regional trafficking networks that exploit child vulnerability.
• Civil society groups are attempting to provide psychosocial support, but government collaboration is essential to address the root causes of family poverty.
• Without vocational education and protection, this generation of marginalized children faces a high risk of being absorbed into delinquency and non-state armed groups, threatening future stability.