In Numbers
1,596 mt of food assistance distributed
US$ 12.4 m net funding requirements in the next six months (June – November 2018)
477, 400 people assisted in May 2018
Operational Updates
• Voluntary repatriation: In May, WFP assisted 6,200 Burundian refugees returning to their zones of origin from Tanzania. As of 31 May 2018, 30,090 Burundians had returned home, through the support of the humanitarian community since the launch of the operation in September 2017.
• According to an action plan adopted in March 2018 by the Tripartite (Burundi/Tanzania/UNHCR) Commission for the voluntary repatriation of Burundian refugees in Tanzania, a total of 72,000 Burundians are expected to return to Burundi by December 2018, 12,000 more than what was agreed in July 2017.
• Flooding and displacement: According to International Organization for migration (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), nearly 80,000 people were affected by torrential rains and flooding during the January - April rainy season. The heavy rains that poured in March and April caused considerable damage all over the country, including the destruction of 1,600 houses and 1,800 hectares of cropland, as well as human displacement. According to IOM, more than 59,000 people are estimated to be in need of immediate food assistance (among them are 16,500 people in Bujumbura and its vicinity) following the floods and subsequent displacements. In May, WFP provided 30-day food ration to 4,700 affected people.
Destruction of croplands and marshlands have led to crop production losses. The affected farmers will require agricultural inputs (seeds) for 2018C (harvest in September) and for 2019A (harvest in December) crop seasons. Despite the losses, the total Season B harvest in June is still likely to be average as beans and marshland crops account for about 20 and 10 percent respectively of total acreage. Nonetheless, many poor households in severely flooded areas of Bujumbura Rural, Bubanza, and Kirundo provinces are likely to be in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) due to displacement and severe crop losses.