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USAID Information:
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Burundi
The Development Challenge: While the National Transitional Government has made progress in restoring security in many parts of the country, sporadic fighting, population movements and economic stagnation continue to sap morale and erode vital support for the transition process. The majority of Burundi's 6.8 million people suffer from insufficient access to food, basic social services and economic opportunities. Quality of life has continued to deteriorate as the conflict destroyed infrastructure, limited access to basic services, and reduced agricultural output. Social and economic indicators have regressed to levels of 30 years ago. Life expectancy, which averaged 54 in 1992, has fallen to 41 years. The infant mortality rate is 114 per 1,000, under-five mortality rate is 190 per 1,000 births, maternal mortality is 800-1,300 per 100,000, immunization coverage rate is 48%, and the illiteracy rate is 52% with school attendance at 48%. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is approximately 8.3%, and there are an estimated 230,000 AIDS orphans. Over 390,000 people are internally displaced and another 840,000 Burundians live as refugees in Tanzania. There are also 27,000 refugees in Burundi, mostly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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The economy is mainly agricultural with roughly 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. The proportion of the population living under the poverty threshold is 58% in the rural areas and 66% in the urban zones.
Ever since the outbreak of the crisis in 1993, the country has been racked with violence and serious human rights violations. These violations resulted in the imprisonment of over 8,000 people including 160 children. Approximately 90% of these people are still awaiting trial.
President Buyoya's eighteen month presidential mandate ended on May 1, 2003, with the peaceful transfer of power to former vice-president, Domitien Ndayizeye, for the second eighteen-month phase. This was followed on November 2, 2003 by the signing of a political and military power-sharing protocol with the CNDD-FDD rebel group which includes a reshuffle of the Cabinet to integrate the CNDD-FDD into institutions, a "forces technical" agreement, transformation of the FDD into a political party, provisional immunity, and a schedule for implementation of the agreement. This signing raises further hopes for the peace process. However, the PALIPEHUTU- National Front for Liberation (FNL) has remained outside the current peace process and continues fighting against both the government and the FDD forces causing population displacements, systematic pillaging and exacting of informal tax by armed groups.
The World Bank estimates that Burundi's per capita gross domestic product in 2002 was less than $84. Burundi's external debt at the end of 2002 was $1.1 billion, with internal and external debt servicing absorbing 41% of the Government of Burundi's 2004 budget revenue. The debt is owed primarily to multilateral institutions. Burundi has not been approved for debt relief under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC), but the IMF Board will meet early in 2004 to approve a Poverty Reduction Growth Facility (PRGF), an important first step in the process to qualify for HIPC.
The U.S. foremost priority in Burundi is clear: To break the cycle of civil wars and massive killings, and reduce the threat of genocide, by supporting the Burundian peace process, democratization, and protection of human rights. Broad U.S. goals are to combat HIV/AIDS, promote trade and investment, foster the rule of law, support human capacity development, and encourage policy reform needed to underpin social and economic development.
The USAID Program: Where security permits, USAID works in rural areas allowing better access to the regions where the conditions are most severe. USAID provides technical expertise and training to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations to promote dialogue and reconciliation and improve the justice system. Radio programs and other unbiased media are used to provide early conflict warnings and to educate the population on reconciliation and transition processes. USAID aims to enhance food security through increased economic and agricultural opportunities. USAID integrates P.L. 480 Title II Food Assistance with Development Assistance to address emergency health needs as well as the longer-term issues related to food security. In the health sector, USAID is working to expand the range and quality of basic health services including child and maternal health services, immunizations, malaria prevention, and HIV/AIDS care and prevention. USAID also provides humanitarian assistance that addresses critical nutrition needs and water and sanitation activities for vulnerable populations, including internally displaced persons.
Other Program Elements: With demobilization and return of ex-combatants, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their communities anticipated, the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) is refocusing its program on the community level in four program areas: 1) community-level peace education for official and unofficial community leaders; 2) community-level vocational skills training for returning ex-combatants, IDPs, refugees, and vulnerable members of the population who remained in their communities; 3) small grants, including construction and repair of small-scale, community based infrastructure and other priorities identified within the peace education component; and 4) media outreach. In FY 2003, the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) provided more that $10 million responding to needs in nutrition, emergency health, food security, water and sanitation, and non-food items. The Office of Food for Peace (FFP) provided food aid to an average of 584,000 beneficiaries per month in 2003, through WFP's Great Lakes Regional Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO), as the major contributor. In addition to relief feeding, WFP provided food to nutritional feeding centers, refugees and returnees, and vulnerable people in social centers, including those affected by HIV/AIDS. In 2003 FFP contribution totaled 41,660 Metric Tons, valued at $24 million. The Office of Private and Voluntary Cooperation supports activities to increase the use of key health and nutrition services as well as to enhance the managerial and advocacy capacity of organizations working in the areas of HIV/AIDS, human rights and conflict mitigation.
Other Donors: Multilateral and bilateral donors are providing funding to United Nations agencies and, in some cases, direct support for government activities. Only a small percentage of funds pledged since the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement (APRA) have been disbursed because many of the pledges were conditional on a cease-fire. The United States is the largest bilateral donor to Burundi. USAID's partners include UN agencies in agriculture and health, and U.S. non-governmental organizations who are working to strengthen local groups. USAID's partners in the HIV/AIDS program include Great Britain and France who supply condoms and laboratory support, respectively. Germany, the second largest donor, supports debt relief, justice, infrastructure, and humanitarian relief. Belgium, the third largest donor, supports budget, balance of payments and demobilization. The European Union, the largest multilateral donor, and USAID (OFDA) share funding for the UN World Food Program aircraft for humanitarian workers.
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