Rapid Response Payment No. 01/2005

Details of Payment

Emergency: Severe drought and resulting hunger in Kirundo Province, Burundi.

Date of Emergency: January 2005.

Implementing Partner: Conseil National des Eglises du Burundi

Details of the Emergency: Kirundo Province, situated 200 km from Bujumbura would normally be considered the bread-basket of the country, however, over the past six years the province has been suffering a severe drought. The most severely affected communes are Busoni, Bugabira, Ntega and Kirundo where all crops have dried out and there has been little or no harvest.

The drought has brought wide-spread hunger, resulting in malnutrition of an estimated 20,000 children and rendering 350,000 people precariously insecure - twenty people have already died of hunger and some children have to be fed through a syringe because they are not able to swallow food. The number of victims is increasing daily and any saleable item is being sold in order to get food. The number of livestock has decreased drastically as a result of unavailability of water and pasture. People are deprived not only of their sources of food but also income. As people have such limited access to food and water they are more vulnerable to illnesses and consequently the medical care system is being stretched beyond capacity.

Proposed Assistance: CNEB proposes to assist 11,096 families with in total 60 MT of rice and 25 MT of beans in the severely affected communes of Bugabira (4,384) and Busoni (6,712) in Kirundo Province. Criteria used in selection: families with elderly people over 65 years; families who have adopted orphans and families with disabled persons. Selection was carried out by committees formed among the beneficiaries and recommendations from local statistical records.

CNEB and its local member church, the Episcopal Church Diocese of Buye, will work with the WFP, FAO and various NGOs in Kirundo Province.

The ACT Co-ordinating Office has approved the use of US$ 25,000 towards the budget from its Rapid Response Fund and would be grateful to receive contributions to wholly or partially replenish this payment. As the situation is so severe an appeal may be forthcoming shortly.