To support the Government's efforts to design effective poverty reduction strategies and interventions, the Bank undertook this Risk and Vulnerability Assessment. Within the framework of social risk management, this report aims to 1) better understand the poverty trends and implications for the poor's vulnerability, as revealed from a quantitative analysis of the priority surveys for 1994 and 1998; 2) supplement the quantitative analysis of poverty and vulnerability with a participatory pilot survey in four villages, in order to identify the key economic and social risks and coping strategies of the poor and vulnerable (particularly women) at the village level, drawing on people's perception of risks and vulnerability; 3) to the extent data permitted, to review the present safety net programs and assess the extent to which they are designed to address the main risks experienced by poor people, the adequacy of such publicly-funded response mechanisms, and identify gaps and/or suggest improvements in the present programmatic interventions; and 4) based on the quantitative and qualitative work, to discuss policy perspectives bearing on the many ways to address risk and vulnerability issues in Burkina Faso. The report is organized as follows: After the introduction, Chapter 2 provides a conceptual framework for analysis of risk and vulnerability. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the country background and the major shocks experienced by the Burkina population in the recent period. Chapter 4 then provides a quantitative analysis of poverty trends and vulnerability to various risks. Chapter 5 provides a qualitative analysis of poverty and vulnerability, based on the findings of participatory surveys done in four villages. This is followed by an overview of existing publicly funded safety net programs and their interface with risks and vulnerabilities of poor households in Chapter 6. finally, based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis and the review of programs, the last chapter -Chapter 7 -provides some policy perspectives on how to improve the risk management capabilities of poor households via appropriate public action.