Help us to complete OneWorld Guides
Some developing countries are missing from our range of Country Guides. OneWorld wants to fill these gaps but we need financial help. If there is a country that you would especially like to see included, then you could make it happen...... find out more

Millennium Development Goals in Burundi

Drummers of Burundi © Alexandra Illmer

Under their normal formula, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are most unlikely to be fulfilled in Burundi. The baseline year of 1990 coincided with the beginning of a decade of political turmoil and conflict in which GDP fell by 20% and extreme poverty increased from 33% to 67%. With almost 55% of the population still living on less than US$1 per day and 41% believed to be chronically malnourished, the outlook is pessimistic for the MDG related to extreme poverty and hunger.

Another legacy of the civil war is the weak capacity for reliable data collection which handicaps projections for a number of the Goals. Nevertheless, the decision to allow universal free access to primary education from 2005 boosts the potential to achieve targets for youth literacy which is still considerably below that of other countries in the region, despite improving from 51% to 73% between 1990 and 2004. There are worries however as to whether the education system’s capacity can be scaled up to cope with half a million extra pupils.

Villagers collecting water in Burundi © Alexandra Illmer

There are also indications that Burundi might be able to achieve the Goal for access to clean water although considerable financial resources from international aid and the state budget will be necessary. Slight progress has been made since 1999 with 75% of urban households having access to safe water, but only 43% of rural households. The figures for safe sanitation are even more serious and present a real challenge for infrastructure development plans.

After some delay, Burundi submitted its final Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) for 2007-2010 and in May 2007 international donors pledged $665 million for this period.

Food Security in Burundi

Settlement outside Bujumbura © Alexandra Illmer

Food security has been declining in Burundi since 1993, with conflict-related displacement and disruption undermining agricultural productivity. This was already hampered by its fragile profile of small farms, frequent land disputes, bad water management and lack of modern equipment. The situation has been aggravated in 2006 and 2007 by unstable climate conditions, firstly the drought that has affected all of East Africa, and secondly from serious flooding after torrential rains in the western provinces. Burundi will be one of the African countries to watch in the context of sensitivity to climate change. The country’s National Adaptation Programme of Action points out that “all the vital sectors of the national economy are affected by (climate change)” and that Burundi has “very low capacity of adaptation”.

View of Lake Tanganjika from Bujumbura © Alexandra Illmer

Burundi already faces many worrying environmental challenges in the form of deforestation, degradation of soil and marshlands, and the reduction in the water level of Lake Tanganyika, all of which impact on food security. On top of these problems, there is underlying pressure on land and agriculture through the high population growth rate in Burundi along with the large number of refugees returning to their home villages from Tanzania. Land density is already the second highest in Africa. The consequence of all these concerns is that Burundi’s food situation is described by the UN as “chronic insecurity” requiring constant attention. Over 800,000 people received food aid in 2007.
Health and HIV/AIDS in Burundi

The Burundian health system deteriorated during the period of armed conflict in the 1990s and is plagued by a lack of financial and infrastructural resources. In 2002 a cost recovery system was adopted, requiring patients to pay for medical consultations, tests, medicines, supplies, and their stay at a hospital. The exemption system for the poorest does not seem to work and failure of patients to remit their fees has led to their detention in hospitals until they can pay their bills.

Burundian girls performing traditional dance © Alexandra Illmer

Inevitably, health indicators leave much to be desired with child and infant mortality actually increasing in recent years to very high levels. Although maternal mortality is improving, it is unlikely that the corresponding MDG will be attained. The government has acted by introducing free healthcare for pregnant women and children under the age of 5 from May 2006 – the capacity of the health system to deliver is however questionable.

The national HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 3.3% seems comparatively low, but disguises considerable rural/urban differentials with the capital Bujumbura displaying prevalence of up to 18%. The infection rate has been accelerated by the armed conflict through rape, forced prostitution of abandoned children and widows, and population movements. A National HIV/AIDS Council was established in 2002 and HIV/AIDS forms one of the central axes of the PRSP, focusing on prevention, care and self-help of people living with AIDS and strengthening institutional capacities for response.
Conflict in Burundi

Displaced families camped in front of a government building in Bujumbura © United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network

Burundi's ethnic makeup is similar to neighbouring Rwanda with two main ethnic groups, the majority Hutus (85%) and the minority Tutsis (14%), alongside the Twa (1%). The history of the two countries has been inextricably linked as ethnic violence in one had repercussions in the other in terms of refugee movements and the reinforcement of mutual fears between the ethnic groups. The Belgian colonisers exacerbated and ethnicised the Hutu-Tutsi cleavage so that after Burundi’s independence in 1962, and in contrast to Rwanda, the administration and government were dominated by Tutsis with the Tutsi-dominated army traditionally defending the interests of the Tutsi minority. Sadly, Burundi’s history since then has been marred by repeated coup attempts and regular outbreaks of violence between the two major ethnic groups.

Kavumu 'regroupment' camp © Human Rights Watch

The assassination of the first democratically elected Hutu president in 1993 triggered a decade-long civil war between the army and Hutu rebel movements, formed in the Tanzanian refugee camps, during which about 300,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed, and one million displaced. With the help of South African mediation, the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement was signed in 2000 paving the way for a new beginning. November 2003 saw a further breakthrough when the main rebel groups led by the Forces for Defence and Democracy (FDD) signed a peace agreement with the government. Over 22,000 ex-combatants and 30,000 militia members have participated in the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration process currently in place. The United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) completed its mandate in December 2006 and its peacekeeping troops have left the country.

One dissenting active rebel group, the Forces Nationales de Liberation (FNL), finally signed a somewhat unconvincing ceasefire agreement in 2006, although a combination of intransigence of both parties and the indiscipline of some breakaway FNL factions renewing violent raids on villages, has delayed its full implementation.
Politics in Burundi

Burundi president Pierre Nkurunziza © Judith Basutama / Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)

The Arusha Accord made provisions for a transitional government from 2001 to 2005 aiming to secure a gradual change from the Tutsi-dominated government and public sector to more balanced representation. A new constitution defining a political system less polarised by ethnicity was approved by referendum in February 2005. The composition of the National Assembly is now regulated by ethnic and gender quotas: 40% of the seats are allocated to Tutsi delegates, 60% to Hutu and 3 seats to the Twa. At least 30% of parliamentarians must be women. Party lists must include candidates from all ethnic groups to avoid election campaigning along ethnic lines. In 2005, local, senatorial and presidential elections took place under peaceful conditions and brought a Hutu president (Pierre Nkurunziza) and a predominantly Hutu party (the CNDD-FDD) to form the government. The main opposition parties are the Hutu Front for Democracy (FRODEBU) and the Unity for National Progress (UPRONA).

Elections in Burundi

Developments since early 2006 have however shown some worrying tendencies with the new government displaying an increasingly authoritarian character. A split in the ruling party during 2007 removed its majority in the Assembly and delayed the passage of legislation. The President has come under pressure to respect the quota spirit of the constitution and appoint a cabinet to unite rather than divide. Inevitably, the lack of institutional infrastructure has exposed faultlines which may stress the peace process.

Civil society in Burundi emerged only recently in the 1990s with international pressure for democratisation. Its beginnings were thus hampered by the context of civil war and the state of civil society today can best be described as embryonic.
Human Rights in Burundi

Refugees return to Burundi

The wars in the Great Lakes region have led to large refugee movements across the borders of each country involved. Refugees from Burundi have fled to neighbouring DRC, Rwanda and Tanzania, whilst Burundi itself is a reluctant host to Rwandan refugees. The improvement of the security situation has made possible the return of large numbers of Burundian refugees from Tanzania and the DRC, some of whom left Burundi as early as 1972. The UN Refugee Agency has overseen the repatriation of over 350,000 refugees from Tanzania since 2002; 350,000 remain of which about 65,000 should have returned by the end of 2007. Quite apart from the logistical challenge, the scale of this influx is creating a land crisis as disputes arise between the returnees and the current occupiers of the land. The Commission Nationale des Terres et Autres Biens (CNTB) has been set up to rule on property rights but it faces an impossibly difficult task.

The civil war triggered a succession of atrocities committed by both sides; for example, both the armed forces and rebel groups have been accused of recruiting children as porters, informants, “wives” and combatants. The Arusha Accord proposed the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission together with a special court within the Burundian legal system to prosecute the most serious cases of ethnic violence in the period since independence. Despite enabling legislation being passed in 2004, progress in

Former Burundi president Domitien Ndayizeye © United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network

setting up the new bodies has been disappointingly slow. A visit from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2007 finally extracted commitment from the government to establish the Commission and that there would be no amnesty for perpetrators of the worst violations.

The deeply established culture of violence and impunity acquired during the long war years is proving difficult to shake off. Through 2006 and 2007 human rights organisations have been raising concerns about violations in Burundi, pointing to extrajudicial killings by the National Intelligence Service and killings of unarmed civilians by the army and militia, and the high incidence of sexual violence against girls and women. Journalists have also been harassed and detained. In July 2006, senior opposition politicians, among them the former president Domitien Ndayizeye, were arrested under questionable claims of a coup plot. Some of the detainees were allegedly tortured.
Information and Media in Burundi

Burundian orphans marvel at their new radio © United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network

Radio is the main source of information for many Burundians as low literacy restricts newspaper readership. The only TV, radio and newspaper media offering national coverage are run by the government. A number of weekly and monthly publications are available, though they usually have short life spans due to limited financial and human resources, and heavy taxation by the government. Hence, their editors and journalists are not usually able to make a living out of them. The majority of these publications are in French and consequently target the population of the capital, specifically public employees, international staff and a small number of educated Burundians.
The Economy in Burundi

The Burundian economy is predominantly agricultural and more than 90% of the population is dependent on subsistence agriculture. Coffee and tea are the main exports, accounting for 90% of foreign exchange earnings, but subject to volatile commodity prices on the world market.

Burundi reached the decision point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative in August 2005 and its debt-to-export ratio was expected to fall below 200% in 2006 (from a level of 1,800% after traditional debt relief). However, its level of foreign debt still remains severe and tough conditions remain in place before the country can reach the HIPC completion point and benefit further.



Alexandra Illmer has undertaken a range of development-related internships and work experience in Austria, including editorial assignments for OneWorld Austria. She is currently studying for an MSc in Development Studies at the London School of Economics and is involved in fundraising for a clean drinking water project in Kabezi, Burundi.

---------