Three provinces prioritised for relief aid distribution

The drought-affected provinces of Kirundo and Muyinga in the north and Cankuzo in the northeast have been identified as the first priority for the distribution of seeds, seed protection and food aid, WFP says in its weekly emergency update, with about 128,000 families being targeted. The provinces of Kayanza and Ngozi in the northwest, Karuzi (north central), Ruyigi and Rutana in the east and Gitega (central) were regarded as the second priority, with 65,013 families in need of food aid. “The assistance in these provinces will depend on the availability of relief items,” the report noted. The agency had also continued to provide food aid to people in the regroupment camps in Bujumbura Rural Province, drought victims in Kayanza Province, refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo in Cibitoke Province (both provinces in the northwest), returnees from Tanzania in Songore, Ngozi Province, and vulnerable groups comprising of orphans, the chronically ill and the disabled in several other provinces.