US $6.5 million project aid released

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the government of Burundi have signed three agreements on the disbursement of US $6.5 million for projects in the domains of community support, good governance, and HIV/AIDS. The contributions are part of some $830 million pledged to Burundi at a donor conference held in December in Geneva, the total of which includes funds pledged at the Paris conference in 2000.

Projects in support of the long-term reintegration of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) will benefit from a contribution of $2,746,000 from UNDP. As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the capacities of communities to re-establish their means of earning a living, the programme will support the reconstruction and rehabilitation of economic and social infrastructure, agricultural production, and revenue generation.

"All activities undertaken [in this domain] will be carried out according to a participatory process, thereby allowing the communities themselves to identify their own needs and to have a role in project implementation," a statement issued by UNDP-Burundi on Friday, 1 March said.

Projects in support of good governance will receive $1,815,500 from UNDP, $250,000 from Austria, $697,760 from the European Union and $100,000 from the government of Sweden. According to UNDP-Burundi, this initiative seeks to facilitate "the establishment of the rule of law in Burundi via coordinated support in three interdependent and essential sectors for the creation of an environment of good governance", these being parliamentary bodies, human rights and civil society/media.

The support will focus on the capacity building of key institutions in each sector, the improvement of the body of law for each sector, and the reinforcement of coordination capacities among the three sectors.

Projects in support of the national fight against HIV/AIDS will benefit from a contribution of $1,937,800. In an effort to reinforce the gains made by previous projects, the provinces of Bujumbura Mairie, Gitega, Muyinga, and Ruyigi will be specifically targeted with projects seeking to fight poverty, support political dialogue, and increase community and institutional capacities.