WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America, March 11, 2016/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
March 10, 2016
The United States announces more than $31 million in additional life-saving humanitarian assistance for refugees from Burundi, Congolese refugees living in Burundi, and others in Burundi who are food insecure. This new funding brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance for the regional response to the Burundi crisis to more than $86 million since the start of the crisis in 2015.
This funding includes more than $23 million for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) Burundi Situation Emergency Appeal and $8 million for the UN World Food Program’s (WFP) operation in Burundi. The additional funding will allow UNHCR to provide new refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia with basic life-saving assistance, such as shelter, access to clean water and sanitation facilities, health care, essential household items, programs which protect children, and activities to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. Inside Burundi, it will support WFP’s operation providing food vouchers, as well as locally and regionally purchased food, to both Congolese refugees in Burundi and citizens of Burundi affected by the current political crisis and natural disasters.
The United States will continue to support those affected by this crisis while working closely with humanitarian organizations and with countries in the region.
