The European Union announces 9 million euros to help Burundian refugees who are in neighboring states and those who have returned voluntarily to the country. On the other hand, the WFP cuts in half the food aid intended for Congolese refugees living in Burundi
EU says returnees need help reintegrating into their home community or integrating into a new community
In its press release of April 3, 2023, the European Commission announced aid of 9 million euros for Burundian refugees still staying in neighboring countries and those who have voluntarily returned to their native country.
According to the statement, more than 300,000 Burundian refugees have been registered in the four main asylum countries including Tanzania, DRC, Rwanda and Uganda until February 2023. “Most of them are entirely dependent on international aid to cover their basic needs such as food, health, water, sanitation, hygiene, shelter and education,” the statement read.
Since 2017, more than 200,000 Burundian refugees, most of whom fled the 2015 crisis, have returned to Burundi. The EU believes that returnees need help to reintegrate into their home community or into a new community. They often face difficulties, as repatriated farmers may have lost their land.
“The EU will focus primarily on protection activities while encouraging, in collaboration with development actors, longer-term solutions,” the statement noted.
WFP halves food ration for Congolese refugees
Due to the decrease in funding for World Food Program humanitarian operations in Burundi, more than 56,000 Congolese refugees housed in five camps in Burundi will only receive half of the food rations from April 1, 2023.
Until March 31, each person received cash or food for the equivalent of US$0.55 per day to cover a full food ration, i.e. 2,100 daily kilocalories needed to meet meet minimum food and nutritional requirements. “This amount will be halved,” says the WFP.
The refugees, most of whom are fleeing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), depend on food assistance to support their families, says WFP. This institution nevertheless notes that the reduction in rations will aggravate food insecurity and the nutritional situation of refugees and might exacerbate tensions between host communities and refugees living around camps and transit centres.
US$7.1 million is needed to restore full food rations for 56,000 refugees over the next six months, said Housainou Taal, WFP Representative and Country Director in Burundi.
With donor support and in collaboration with humanitarian and development partners, WFP assisted nearly 1 million food-insecure people in Burundi in 2022.