Burundi is heavily dependent on bilateral and multilateral donors from the international community. The development cooperation has a high proportion of the economic and social development of Burundi. The OECD has been supporting Burundi in various areas since the turn of the millennium. The activities of UNDP / PNUD and IFAD are also extremely important for the country. Support from the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), the World Bank, the EU (2011, EUR 30.9 million from COMESA; the project PIN = Program Indicative National) is essential for maintaining the elementary state functions in Burundi with an estimated 432 million euros for the period 2014-2020) and USAID are significant, because more than half of the Burundian state budget is borne by external financiers. The EU is one of the largest financiers. But Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, Japan and France also support Burundi. Relations with China are becoming more intense. Mutual facilitation in visa traffic is intended to promote activities between China and Burundi. The FAO – co-financed by the EU – helps Burundi in the agricultural sector, the UNICEF in helping children and the WHO in nutrition and health. Germany focuses on water and sanitation. Burundi has made some progress in financial management at the urging of donor countries, but the corruption problem remains almost unchanged. The IMF is also very active in Burundi. Entry to SADC was denied in 2017. After another application, however, Burundi was not accepted into the SADC in 2019 either.
According to historyaah, the international development cooperation organizations are very important in Burundi in the areas of poverty reduction, emergency aid and support in the education, health and economic sectors at the local level. In September 2018, Nkurunziza irritated the international community with his announcement that he would initially stop the work of many NGOs for 3 months because they were not correctly applying the law on financial disclosure and ethnic quota regulations that came into force in 2017. After the change of president, the Society for Francophonie (OIF = Organsiation Internationale de la Francophonie) would like to resume its work in 2020 after the period of inactivity.
German development cooperation
Germany has so far been a medium-sized bilateral donor with a total of around € 50 million (for the 2014/2015 period). A number of priorities were supported, with approximately $ 181 million spent between 2000-2011. Due to the negative political developments, however, Germany postponed government negotiations in 2015 until further notice and suspended cooperation with the Burundian government. Only those activities that directly benefit the population will be continued. There have also been no new commitments since 2015 in the context of financial cooperation.
In the area of water, Germany is still the leading and largest donor (GIZ). The GIZ has started its activities in Burundi in 2002 again from 1996 onwards, rested cooperation. But it wasn’t until 2005 that more intensive project activities began. In doing so, GIZ is concentrating on improving the water supply and sanitation. In addition, there are projects for decentralization and poverty reduction, for promoting peace and security in the EAC, for regional integration in Burundi and for supporting the International Great Lakes Conference.In the province of Bujumbura Rural, the BMZ is promoting food security and social cohesion. Together with the ZFD and UNICEF, work is also being carried out on a psychosocial care system for traumatized women and children. GIZ International Services has been working on reform of the Burundian security sector on behalf of the Dutch government since 2011. Social integrative measures are also organized in cooperation with the Civil Peace Service (ZFD). The German development cooperation organizations Eirene and Agiamondo are also involved in the CPS. In the Weltwärts programyoung people have been actively involved in various projects in Burundi since 2009. GIZ has been involved in two new projects since 2013: on the one hand, it is providing regional support for the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC), and on the other, strengthening health structures for family planning and for sexual and reproductive health and rights. The BGR is committed to the protection of groundwater resources and the improvement of the drinking water supply.
A large number of donation organizations are active in Burundi, e.g.
- Burundikids
- Sponsorship of the city of Albstadt
- Human Aid project
- Liebenzell Mission
- SOS Children’s Villages
- Caritas
- Muslims help
- Ora child aid
Burundi has a partnership with the state of Baden-Württemberg that has been revived in recent years. In 2013, the state of Baden-Württemberg sponsored a climate protection concept in Burundi by providing funds for planting trees and improving energy use. The Welthungerhilfe and the Savings Bank Foundation are very active in Burundi.
