USAID: Benin FY 2002 Congressional Budget Justification

PROGRAM: Burundi
TITLE & NUMBER: Foundation for a Peaceful Transition in Burundi Established, 695-005
STATUS: New
PLANNED FY 2001 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $3,000,000 DA
PROPOSED FY 2002 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $1,500,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 2001 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2003

Summary: This is a new special objective designed to encapsulate USAID's proposed transitional program in Burundi to help support the peace process.

The objective is intended to foster peace and reconciliation, expand the role of civil society and women, promote improvement of the justice system, provide education to combat HIV/AIDS, and help increase agricultural production in specific impoverished provinces. Activities will strengthen civil society initiatives for conflict mediation, increase citizens' access to officials and the media, strengthen independent radio, and support legal training which provides essential tools to work for a peaceful transition in Burundi. At the same time, measures to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic engulfing Burundi and the increasingly fragile food security conditions of the poorest communities will be initiated. As implementation of a peace accord accelerates and physical security improves in the countryside, USAID will be able to expand activities with international and non-governmental organizations, including the several faith-based agencies already working in Burundi, to promote food security and access to basic services.

During FY 2001, Development Assistance (Agriculture - $3,000,000) and Economic Support Funds from the Great Lakes Justice Initiative will be used to fund this Special Objective.

FY 2002 DA resources ($1,500,000) are requested to fund community-based agriculture and food security programs to foster community participation. At the same time improved availability of food, seed and other agricultural inputs will contribute towards revitalizing agricultural production at the local levels. Crops targeted will include potatoes, beans and cassava.

Key Results: USAID has provided assistance to partners working to reinforce legal protection, civic society and independent radio programming since 1996. USAID has made significant progress in augmenting journalists' analytical/technical skills, training community mediators and enhancing the research capacity and strategic focus of jurists to advocate for equal legal status for women and children. USAID partners have established women's and youth centers that provide recognized forums for Burundians from every walk of life and from each ethnic group to meet and discuss the problems which divide their society. These cross-communal dialogues have succeeded in blocking major acts of violence encouraged by extremists in both camps.

Public affairs radio programming produced by a USAID funded local radio station, "Studio Ijambo", has emerged as an effective counterweight to a political culture characterized by rumor, threat and distortion. Their long running soap opera, the story of a family facing daily challenges brought on by insecurity, HIV/AIDS and poverty, is the most popular in the country. This history program provides a unique forum for Burundians to examine their tortured past.

Performance and Prospects: Confronting severe constraints, including firefights in the capital city and limited access to the countryside, USAID partners have produced impressive results. Their performance has generated USAID's decision to extend their periods of performance and increase their funding.

In 2001 and 2002, USAID will focus on empowering citizens to solve disputes across ethnic, regional and socioeconomic lines. Specific activities will include expanded forums for inter-communal dialogue, especially for youth and women, and training of citizens to gain access to officials and the media and more effectively lobby for community improvement. USAID will continue to assist impartial radio programming as it develops its own voice and capacity for self-sufficiency. Through this process, professional journalists and commercial managers will gain greater professional experience and spearhead private media initiatives.

Civic groups and legal trainers will be supported to advocate actions that address statutory and societal discrimination. A key partner will continue to analyze cases concerning women and children and advocate for changes in legal code and practice that provide equal protection on critical issues such as inheritance and treatment of women prisoners. The efforts of Burundian rights experts to build a regional network in the Great Lakes Region and to present testimony to international commissions will also be supported.

Throughout the transitional period, USAID will continue efforts to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and to reach as many vulnerable groups with emergency assistance as possible. Food aid will be provided to most vulnerable communities, mainly in the north. Emergency assistance will provide essential services, target feeding to children in therapeutic clinics, rehabilitate water resources, and provide seeds and tools to rural farm families. If a genuine cease-fire takes hold and all parties to the conflict support the peace process, USAID will assist in the reintegration of former combatants with funding from the Bureau for Humanitarian Response Office of Transition Initiatives.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: If the conflict escalates and security deteriorates, USAID expects that partners will not be able to implement and expand activities in the rural provinces as anticipated. Support for improved food security and women's programs in rural areas could be delayed. Assistance for reintegration of demobilized military and militia would likewise be delayed or cancelled.

Other Donor Programs: A number of other donors have pledged to assist the transition in Burundi. The principal multilateral donors are the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations. Leading bilateral donors include Belgium, France, Germany, Canada and Norway.

Principle Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: USAID's program is implemented through grants to a number of non-governmental organizations, including Search for Common Ground, International Human Rights Law Group/International Foundation for Electoral Systems, and Africare.

Selected Performance Measures: This is a new Special Objective. Performance measures are to be developed as the new program is implemented.

U.S. Financing

(In thousands of dollars)

	Obligations		Expenditures		Unliquidated
Through September 30, 1999	0	DA	0	DA	0	DA
	0	CSD	0	CSD	0	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF	0	ESF
	0	SEED	0	SEED	0	SEED
	0	FSA	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA	0	DFA
Fiscal Year 2000	0	DA	0	DA
	0	CSD	0	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF
	0	SEED	0	SEED
	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA
Through September 30, 2000	0	DA	0	DA	0	DA
	0	CSD	0	CSD	0	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF	0	ESF
	0	SEED	0	SEED	0	SEED
	0	FSA	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA	0	DFA
Prior Year Unobligated Funds	0	DA
	0	CSD
	0	ESF
	0	SEED
	0	FSA
	0	DFA
Planned Fiscal Year 2001 NOA	3,000	DA
	0	CSD
	0	ESF
	0	SEED
	0	FSA
	0	DFA
Total Planned Fiscal Year 2001	3,000	DA
	0	CSD
	0	ESF
	0	SEED
	0	FSA
	0	DFA
			Future Obligations		Est. Total Cost
Proposed Fiscal Year 2002 NOA	1,500	DA	1,500	DA	6,000	DA
	0	CSD	0	CSD	0	CSD
	0	ESF	5,000	ESF	5,000	ESF
	0	SEED	0	SEED	0	SEED
	0	FSA	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA	0	DFA

BURUNDI

Activity Data Sheet

U.S. Financing