Government needs US $75 million to mitigate drought

At least US $75 million of the Burundian government's $168 million emergency plan for 2006 has been earmarked to feed the country's drought-affected populations. In an emergency programme presented to representatives of donor countries and diplomats on Tuesday in the capital, Bujumbura, the government said it would distribute food to 460,000 families - 30 percent of the country's seven million people - between March and May. Provinces in the country's north, northeast and southeast are suffering from a drought following poor rainfall and a prolonged dry season. Thirteen out of 17 provinces in Burundi need food assistance, according to the government. Gerald Muringa, the director-general in the Ministry of Planning and National Reconstruction, said the country's hunger-stricken people would be given beans, maize and flour, and would also receive fertilisers and selected seeds in February and March. In a statement released on Tuesday, the national committee for the coordination of food assistance, set up in December, appealed for solidarity to assist drought-affected populations. The committee called on "economic operators, NGOs and all persons of goodwill to contribute with food aid, selected seeds and fertilisers." Food shortages have prompted residents of Kirundo, Muyinga and Cankuzo provinces to flee to neighbouring countries and led to an escalated school dropout rate. The government's emergency plan also covers other sectors - such as the rehabilitation of school and health infrastructure - as well as the repatriation and rehabilitation of returnees and good governance support. The presentation of the emergency plan was in preparation for a meeting of donor countries on 28 February in Bujumbura to mobilise funds.