Brussels, 13/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 13 May, the European Commission announced that two direct aid programmes for the population of Burundi will be financed from the European Development Fund (11th EDF) for a total of €55 million.
A sum of €40 million from this envelope will go to a project for access to health care, and the remaining €15 million will be allocated to a rural development programme and nutrition. In both cases, the aid will be implemented by non-governmental organisation (NGOs).
The EU decision taken in March to suspend development cooperation partially with Burundi should not be to the detriment of Burundi's people (see EUROPE 11511).
In a press release, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica says that the Burundians themselves are the main victims of the current crisis which has made an already-fragile situation worse. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)