The post-conflict political and institutional transition in Burundi made significant progress in 2006, marked by gradual but sustained advancement of the Arusha peace process and the establishment of a new Government. With the support of regional Governments and the UN peacekeeping mission in Burundi (ONUB), elections were successfully completed. The Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Programme (DDR) continued to make progress, and military integration and police reform were being implemented. However, despite this, the cessation of hostilities reached in May 2005 between the Burundian Transitional Government and the Front National de Libération (FNL) did not hold and the FNL remained outside the peace process. As a result, protection of civilian populations remained a major humanitarian concern in areas still insecure. In September 2006, however, the rebel group and the Government signed a comprehensive ceasefire agreement.
As Burundians tried to consolidate peace, the country faced declining humanitarian and development standards and structural poverty. Access to basic services (notably in education and health) remained limited due to a lack in infrastructure and capacity. Population movements declined with slightly more than 100,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and an estimated 50,000 Burundian returnees in 2006. At the same time, there were still an estimated 350,000 Burundian refugees in Tanzania. It was expected that the number of returnees would increase very quickly if the ceasefire lasted and economic recovery picks-up.
Given this situation, the Emergency Relief Coordinator allocated $4.1 million from the CERF under-funded emergencies window in 2006 to Burundi. The first allocation of $2.1 million was made in May, followed by another $2 million in August 2006.
Click here to download the full 2006 CERF report for Burundi.
WHO and UNICEF supplied essential care packages (ECP) to the health centers of ten provinces
![Ezechiel Niragira, expelled from Tanzania in September 2006 [Photo: UN/Burundi]](/Portals/11/Images_country/BUR_UN_Return_crop.jpg) |
| Ezechiel Niragira, expelled from Tanzania in September 2006 [Photo: UN/Burundi] |
using the grant from the CERF. The project was carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Health at national level and NGOs at provincial levels. The CERF funding was particularly timely given the decision of the Government on 1 May 2006 to provide free primary health care for children under five and pregnant women. Although this shift in policy was good news, it strained the already struggling government primary health care system. Many health centers suspended their services as of July 2006. The essential care package provided by the United Nations served as an incentive for some to ensure continued free care for those populations covered by the governmental decision.
UNHCR has completed the construction of 3,266 houses for families who returned to Burundi from Tanzania in the course of 2005. CERF funds were critical to fill the funding shortfall, allowing the completion of roofing for homes before the rainy season resumed. By roofing these houses, the beneficiaries's health conditions will improve and they will be protected against heavy ongoing rains and floods.
With CERF funding, FAO helped rehabilitate the marshlands in five provinces with high proportion of returnees (Cankuzo, Ruyigi, Makamba, Rutana and Muyinga). As of August 2006, about 3,000 returning families had benefited from this project. The marshland agricultural season (from June to September) is essential to insure a minimum level of food security at a period when the products of the main harvest are already consumed (between September and December). This emergency programme, which FAO set up with the support of community based associations, mitigated the impact of the two preceding poor harvests and encouraged return through offering sustainable livelihoods.
[Last Update: 4 September 2007]
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