EU provides additional aid for Burundi refugees in Tanzania

The European Commission is releasing €3 million to meet the needs for assistance and protection of the increasing number of Burundi refugees in neighbouring Tanzania. The funding brings the total humanitarian aid foreseen for the Great Lakes region for 2015 to €52m.

"The wave of refugees fleeing Burundi has been ongoing and increasing in intensity in the last weeks. This is an extremely worrying development in an already fragile region. The additional humanitarian aid we are releasing today is a strong signal that the European Union stands by the people of Burundi and the Great Lakes region," said Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Commissioner Christos Stylianides.

Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo have been experiencing flows of refugees from Burundi since April. Those arriving cite intimidation, threats, or fear of violence as reasons for fleeing. Almost 100,000 people, (99,213 for the United Nations, 8 June) the majority of them women and children, are estimated to have fled already, with more feared to follow suit.

Tanzania is the main hosting country with 51,603 refugees having arrived so far, followed by Rwanda (29,907) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (10,044).The number of arrivals in Uganda has also been increasing in the last weeks, reaching 7,659 70% of whom having arrived since mid-April.

The surge follows a political crisis in Burundi which erupted after the decision of President Nkurunziza to run for a third term. The announcement provoked a coup d’état on 13 May, which was rapidly defeated, but has led to street protests, violence and spreading deterioration of the security situation in the country.

The European Commission is closely monitoring the situation and has already released €1.5m to meet the immediate needs of Burundian refugees arriving in Rwanda last month. The most urgent humanitarian needs include shelter, water and sanitation, as well as health assistance to stop the possible surge of diseases and epidemics, notably cholera.