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EU humanitarian aid to vulnerable displaced populations in Burundi and Tanzania

The European Commission has adopted two humanitarian aid packages totalling € 30 million to meet the needs of vulnerable people in Burundi (€15 million) and Tanzania (€15 million) during 2004. The funds are managed by the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) under the responsibility of Commissioner Poul Nielson. Projects will be implemented by humanitarian agencies operating in the target regions.

Poul Nielson said: "Considerable progress was made towards peace in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003. This opens up the prospect that the thousands of refugees who have fled conflict and are now living in camps in Tanzania could return to their homelands. The possible return of refugees will need careful organisation to avoid further conflict, and to ensure that people have a safe place to return to and build a new life. "

Support for vulnerable populations in Burundi - €15 million

The humanitarian situation in Burundi remains highly uncertain. For a decade humanitarian needs in Burundi have consistently grown, and in 2003 the country was ranked 171st out of 175 countries in the United Nations Development Programme (UN) Human Development Index. Years of war and displacement have led to a total absence of basic services for large sectors of the population and have contributed to excessively high mortality and morbidity rates. Life expectancy plummeted from 53.8 years in 1992, to 40.9 years in 2001.

ECHO has been providing emergency aid to Burundi since the beginning of the current crisis in 1993. To date the conflict has killed an estimated 300,000 people, caused massive population movements, and created over 800,000 refugees in Tanzania alone. More than 280,000 civilians have been internally displaced and are still living in temporary camps, dependent on international aid for their survival. Every month fighting forces an estimated 100,000 people to temporarily flee their homes.

In 2004, €15 million will be provided to reduce mortality and morbidity particularly among the most vulnerable populations (refugees, internally displaced people - IDPs, returnees, women and children).

Since the beginning of the crisis, these IDPs and refugees have been the principal beneficiaries of ECHO's aid. Activities financed under the current decision will target:

• Food and nutrition A massive 69% of the Burundi population are under-nourished, and an estimated one in five people risks starvation. ECHO will support therapeutic feeding for the acutely malnourished, and will ensure a targeted distribution of food, seeds and tools, to families with malnourished children, IDPs and other vulnerable groups.
  
  
• Health - Access to healthcare in Burundi is extremely poor; there is currently just one doctor for every 100,000 people. ECHO will support national programmes to control malaria and other epidemic disease and will work to ensure low cost access to essential health services.
  
  
• Water and sanitation - Since 1993 access to drinking water has declined considerably. Overall drinking water coverage has fallen from 79% to 51%. The situation is particularly difficult in camps for displaced people where 71% do not have proper access to drinking water. ECHO is working to ensure safe water supplies, to improve sanitation conditions, and to provide hygiene education, in order to reduce the incidence of water-borne disease. Activities will target the needs of vulnerable people and social infrastructure close to IDP sites.
  
  
• Psychosocial - The security situation makes humanitarian operations difficult and dangerous in most of the country. Civilian populations are the first victims of the ongoing conflict especially women and children. Human rights groups recorded 981 cases of sexual violence in 2003. ECHO has therefore introduced a special focus on psychosocial support for traumatised victims in its programme for Burundi.

More information on ECHO aid to Burundi:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/echo/field/burundi/index_en.htm

Support for Refugees in Tanzania - €15 million
Tanzania is host to the largest refugee population on the African continent. Although it is one of the world's poorest countries (half of the population lives on less than $1 per day) stability and the absence of conflict have made it an attractive refuge for vulnerable people and victims of crisis in the region. For the past three years the registered refugee population in Tanzania has totalled approximately half a million people, and it is estimated that a further half a million refugees are unregistered and living outside refugee camps. ECHO funding under the 2004 Global Plan targets 476,000 people, one third from Democratic Republic of Congo and two thirds from Burundi, living in 13 camps in North Western Tanzania. These people rely on the protection of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and are almost entirely dependent on international humanitarian aid for survival. ECHO remains by far the largest single donor to UNHCR in Tanzania, and will fund approximately half of its budget.ECHO has been supporting vulnerable populations in Tanzania for ten years and, since 2000, has provided €125 million in humanitarian aid. Activities financed under the current decision will build on experience gathered in this period and include:

• Logistics The refugee camps, situated in an area with poor infrastructure, are difficult to access. ECHO will continue to fund the transportation of essential food and non-food items to the camp population. In this context, ECHO will fund the running and maintenance of approximately 280 four wheel drive vehicles and 70 light trucks.
  
  
• Water, sanitation, health and nutrition Health, nutrition and hygiene standards are generally good in the camps. However Malaria morbidity is extremely high at 40%, reaching 50% during the rainy season, and remains the biggest health problem in the camps. ECHO will provide targeted support to particularly vulnerable groups (people living with HIV/AIDS, children and breast-feeding women) and focus on enhancing health education and information.
  
  
• Shelter, protection and other refugee services ECHO will continue to support improvements to camp infrastructure, refugee shelter, the registration of refugees, environmental protection, community services, and distribution of non-food items. 450,000 refugees are expected to benefit from ECHO interventions under this decision. Special assistance will be given to victims of domestic and sexual violence.

More information on ECHO activities:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/echo/index_en.htm

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