Nutritional and food security declines

Meanwhile, over the past two weeks, Household and Food Economy Assessment (HFEA) teams conducted in-depth assessments in Burundi's Karuzi (north-central) and Ngozi (north) provinces and found that the nutritional and food security situation has declined in both provinces, with some areas more hit than others.

"Malnutrition is seriously affecting four out of seven communes in Karuzi province and four out of nine communes in Ngozi," WFP said. The teams concluded that the malnutrition is mainly due to crop reductions, attributable to unfavourable weather, lack of agricultural inputs during previous seasons, crop disease and overpopulation. "The malaria epidemic has aggravated the situation, primarily affecting the poor and already weakened population," it noted.