Burundi
USAID's Strategy in Burundi
While the National Transitional Government of Burundi has
made progress in restoring security in many parts of the country,
sporadic fighting, population movements and economic stagnation
continue to sap morale and erode vital support for the transition
process. The majority of Burundi's 6.8 million people suffer
from insufficient access to food, basic social services, and
economic opportunities.
Quality of life has continued to deteriorate as the conflict
has destroyed infrastructure, limited access to basic services,
and reduced agricultural output. Social and economic indicators
have regressed to levels of 30 years ago. Life expectancy,
which averaged 54 in 1992, has fallen to 41 years. The infant
mortality rate is 114 per 1,000, immunization coverage rate
is 48 percent, and the illiteracy rate is 52 percent with
school attendance at 48 percent. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate
is approximately 8.3 percent. Over 390,000 people are internally
displaced and another 840,000 Burundians live as refugees
in Tanzania. There are also 27,000 refugees in Burundi, mostly
from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The World Bank estimates that Burundi's per capita gross
domestic product in 2002 was less than $84. Burundi's external
debt at the end of 2002 was $1.1 billion, with internal and
external debt servicing absorbing 41 percent of the Government
of Burundi's 2004 budget revenue.
The U.S. foremost priority in Burundi is clear: to break
the cycle of civil wars and massive killings and reduce the
threat of genocide by supporting the Burundian peace process,
democratization, and protection of human rights. Broad U.S.
goals are to combat HIV/AIDS, promote trade and investment,
foster the rule of law, support human capacity development,
and encourage policy reform needed to underpin social and
economic development.
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