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IOM Appeal Burundi Complex Emergency (January - December 2016)

Countries
Burundi
Sources
IOM
Publication date

1.1 M People in need of humanitarian assistance

85,000 Internally Displaced People

IOM APPEAL (USD) (January - December 2016)

TOTAL 9.0 M

Shelter and Non-Food Items 2.1 M
Protection 1.8 M
Early Recovery 0.9 M
Rehabilitation of affected areas 3.0 M Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Building 0.7 M
Counter-Trafficking 0.5 M

SITUATION OVERVIEW

In April 2015, the announcement of President Pierre Nkurunziza’s intention to run for a third presidential term sparked violent reactions and civil unrest in Bujumbura and other parts of the country. One year later, the situation remains precarious, resulting in severe government crackdowns, reports of human rights violations, and significant displacements of populations, including over 260,000 refugees fleeing to the neighbouring countries of Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia (source: UNHCR). In February 2016, the Humanitarian Country Team published a Humanitarian Needs Overview highlighting that 1.1 million people are in need of protection and life-saving assistance and the Humanitarian Response Plan for Burundi was released soon after, appealing for USD 62.3 million, targeting 442,000 beneficiaries.

Despite the growing scope of the situation on the ground, the humanitarian community has had very limited information on the displaced and affected communities within Burundi. In September 2015, IOM launched the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) to systematically collect data on the displaced populations, their humanitarian needs, and distribute the information to the government and humanitarian partners. IOM’s DTM is currently the only source of information on internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country and their humanitarian needs. It is presently rolled out in five provinces and will be extended to nine by July 2016, ultimately aiming to provide nation-wide coverage, pending the receipt of donor funding.

As of March 2016, IOM identified 25,294 IDPs (5,139 households) in the three provinces of Rutana, Makamba and Kirundo, where those under the age of 17 years accounted for 58 per cent of the total displaced in these provinces. Nearly 80 per cent of the IDPs IOM identified in March stated that their displacement was a result of the current socio-political situation.

In addition to the instability in the country, Burundi entered a rainy season that has been heavier than usual, possibly due to the effects of the El Niño phenomenon, that has consequently increased internal displacement. As of March 2016, local authorities and the Burundian Red Cross assessed that the rainy season has already destroyed more than 14,000 houses in Burundi. Additionally, landslides that occurred in November 2015 in the Rumonge province displaced 318 households who have been hosted in two IDP camps planned and set up by IOM along with the Burundian Red Cross.

The combination of the socio-political crisis and natural disasters has intensified the challenges faced by a population that already suffers from chronic vulnerability. Sectors of the Burundian economy, including agriculture, trade and craft activities, have been impacted and in turn, have affected the population’s fragile livelihoods. A recent 2015 evaluation of the national reintegration strategy highlighted that unemployment and lack of livelihood alternatives were related to the persistent political instability, with only a few people left unaffected by the crisis. Men and women, between the ages of 20 and 32 years old, are among the most affected groups with unemployment statistics revealing that 3 out of 5 young people are unemployed. The dearth of available jobs, with no prospects of improvement in the near future, has forced many more young people to turn to the informal job market and/or adopt negative coping mechanisms, often leading to a lack of social cohesion. There is a great need to restore the livelihoods of those impacted by the political strife and floods to contribute to social cohesion and early recovery interventions.

To support humanitarian efforts and provide life-saving assistance to affected populations in Burundi, IOM is implementing several relief interventions and appealing for a total of USD $9 million within the Shelter & Non-Food Item (NFI) / Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM), Protection, Early Recovery and Disaster Risk Reduction sectors. All of the humanitarian interventions in this appeal are in line with the 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan for Burundi developed by the Humanitarian Country Team. Furthermore, IOM has included additional interventions that are in line with IOM’s country strategy to address migration issues and initiate development-principled programming to establish the foundations for longer-term recovery to complement its humanitarian programmes.