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Burundi + 1 more

WFP Burundi Country Brief, July - August 2018

Attachments

In Numbers

1,499 mt of food assistance distributed
USD 824,584 transferred to refugees
USD 13 m six months (September 2018-February 2019) net funding requirements, representing 557,565 people assisted in July-August 2018

Operational UpdatesOperational Updates

  • CBT resumption in refugee camps: After 15 months of interruption due to resource constraints and market uncertainty, WFP resumed, in July, cash-based transfers (CBT) to Congolese refugees living in four camps in Burundi. The shift from in-kind food distributions to CBT was mainly dictated by a favourable market context (availability of food from the biggest harvest season in July-August). The CBT used the SCOPE platform (electronic vouchers) allowing the 43,000 Congolese refugees to purchase food in fairs organized with local traders in the camps. For families with children under 5 years of age, WFP complemented CBT with in-kind distribution of SuperCereal. WFP also provided oil and salt, as they were very expensive in the fairs. The CBT modality is planned to continue until October, during the lean season.

  • Scaling up school feeding: With the new school year starting in September and with the support of the the World Bank (WB), WFP is preparing to scale up its school feeding programme in Burundi. A total of 97 new schools in Kirundo and Muyinga, two provinces chronically affected by food insecurity, will be included in the programme. This will increase school feeding coverage in the country by 14 percent thanks to the World Bank’s three-year contribution of US$ 7 million. The programme will continue to use food procured locally from smallholders organized in cooperatives whenever the market allows. In 2018 (as at August), WFP had procured 2,300 tons of food from local smallholders, for a total cost of USD 1.68 million, which was invested in the local economy.

  • Ebola: WFP is preparing to take the lead in the revitalization of the logistics sector/ cluster, as a preparedness plan against the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Actions include the designing and contribution to the construction of an Ebola Treatment Centre (ETC), and ensuring the pre-positioning of Ebola kits, and inclusion of rations (ready to eat) for isolated people. The country office is also adapting its EPRP risk analysis to the actual Ebola context. WFP staff continue to be informed on Ebola risks, and individual measures are being put in place to mitigate the risk. WFP is also liaising with other actors within the Ebola Task Force chaired by the Ministry of Health.