NAIROBI, 31 December (IRIN) - A selected chronology of events in the Burundi during 2004.

January

2 Jan: Oxfam-Great Britain closes its country office and operational programme in Burundi.

6 Jan: President Domitien Ndayizeye signs a decree appointing 33 members of the Joint Military High Command, 20 from the army and 13 from the former rebel movement, Conseil national de la defense de la democratie-Forces de defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD),

1. RESUME

Le Plan global 2005 d'ECHO vise à poursuivre l'aide humanitaire indispensable au maintien de la vie au Burundi, dans une période de transition capitale pour le pays. Si cette transition se confirme et se consolide, elle pourra permettre un désengagement progressif d'ECHO et permettre d'entamer de véritables efforts de reconstruction et de développement, après plus de onze années de conflit armé.

Réunie dans le cadre d'un sommet régional le 15 octobre 2004 à Nairobi, Kenya, l'Initiative régionale des Grands

The IRC's Impact

In 2004, IRC humanitarian aid programs restored hope and opportunity for more than 15 million conflict-affected individuals around the world, and millions more were helped by the 5,600 local organizations and community groups that the IRC supports. Here's a look at some of the IRC's most recent achivements:

- More than 4.3 million people gained access to clean water and sanitation through our environmental health programs.

Bujumbura, Burundi - "The year 2005 should be a year of crisis exit and the real achievement of a long process begun in Arusha, because all the majors' reforms undertaken should be completed in 2005."

These comments were made Friday 30 December 2004 by Nureldin Satti, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General in Burundi.

On behalf of ONUB he commended the national media for their sense of responsibility in informing and educating the populations and for their commitment to the peace process in Burundi. Then,

"The talks focused on transitional arrangements and preparations for free and fair elections," Zuma's

HUMANITARIAN ACTIVITIES
1. Cholera/malaria outbreaks

BUJUMBURA, 22 Dec 2004 (IRIN) - Burundi's Ministry of Health says it has suspended maternity services in private health-care centres following patients' complaints of bad treatment.

"We have found out that all is a matter of money at the cost of people's lives," Dr Jean Kamana, the minister for public health, said on Wednesday, one day after he visited some of the private health centres in the capital, Bujumbura.

He said the suspension of child-delivery

Considered one of the most unstable regions in the world, the continent's "powder keg" once again ends the year on a bleak note, with the threat of a third war in eight years looming in the former Zaire.

For the last week, fighting in the eastern town of Kanyabayonga, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the Nord Kivu

NAIROBI, 20 December (IRIN) - Two soldiers serving with the UN peacekeeping operation in Burundi, known as ONUB, have been suspended from duty while they are officially investigated for allegations of sexual misconduct.

"This mission will not waver from its responsibility to the Burundian people and international community to ensure absolute implementation of the UN Secretary-General's zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel," ONUB said in a statement on Friday.