The World Bank in Burundi

A landlocked country in East Africa, Burundi is a low-income economy where 80% of the population are employed in the agricultural sector. Surrounded by Rwanda to the North, Tanzania to the East, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the West, it is bordered by Lake Tanganyika to the Southwest. With a population of 11.8 million, of which 50.4% (2019) are women, it is one of the most densely populated countries in the Great Lakes region.

Burundi has made significant progress in terms of quality and access to education. Since the introduction of free primary education in 2005, the Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) in primary education reached 115% during the 2020/2021 school year without significant variation between provinces, gender or wealth levels.

Political Context 

Burundi is a constitutional Republic whose second largest city, Gitega, became the country’s political capital city in 2019. Gitega is home to the Presidency of the Republic and the Senate, while the main state institutions are still located in Bujumbura, the economic capital city.

Burundi’s new constitution provides for a renewable term of 7 years for the Presidency of the Republic and establishes the Offices of Vice-President and Prime Minister. These three bodies constitute the country’s highest authorities. 

The Government’s priorities are: (i) tackle the coronavirus (COVID19); (ii) strengthen health services; (iii) fight against corruption  (iv) revitalize the agricultural sector; (v) youth employability; and (vi)support for state pensioners.

Socio-economic Context

Burundi has experienced a difficult economic situation over the past seven years, which has led to fiscal and balance of payments difficulties. To compensate for the loss of external resources, the Government mobilized internal resources, but this has not been sufficient for an ever-increasing social demand, driven by sustained population growth.

The shock linked to the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted a still fragile economic recovery and intensified macroeconomic imbalances.

Economic growth was estimated at 1.8% in 2021 compared to 0.3% in 2020, supported by an easing of restrictions related to COVID-19. Economic growth is projected at 2.5% in 2022, supported by gains across all sectors.

Inflation remained high at around 8.3% in 2021 against 7.5% in 2020, driven by rising food prices and monetization of the fiscal deficit. Inflation will remain high at around 9% in 2022, particularly following the impact of the Russia/Ukraine conflict on food and oil prices worldwide.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Thanks to Additional Funding of US$60 million from the World Bank through the AVAT COVID-19 response initiative, Burundi was able to get the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. At the national level, the vaccination campaign started on October 18, 2021. Six vaccination sites are open in the province of Bujumbura (out of 18 provinces). The national vaccination rate is still low; as of March 8, 2022, less than 1% of the population was vaccinated, against a WHO vaccination target of 70% per country. A nationwide vaccination deployment plan has just been approved and will gradually extend vaccination to 102 sites nationwide. The COVID-19 epidemiological situation has stabilized since January 2022, after a huge wave linked to the omicron variant in December 2021.

Last Updated: Apr 14, 2022

The Country Partnership Framework (CPF), approved by the World Bank Board of Directors in July 2019, focuses on two priority areas namely: (i) strengthening human capital, and (ii) strengthening the fundamental foundation for economic and social resilience. Macroeconomic stability, structural reforms and effective governance guided by citizen engagement are the foundation for these two priority areas.

Burundi benefits from the World Bank Group Grant financing through the International Development Association (IDA) on a three-year cycle based on performance and quality. In addition to IDA19 funding of over US$600 million, the country also benefits from allocations from the private sector window. Through its host and refugee community strategy, the Government of Burundi also benefits from the host and refugee community window under which a project for the development of youth and women’s skills has obtained funding to the tune of US$20 million. Three other projects, namely: (i) Great Lakes Trade Facilitation and Integration Project (US$80 million); (ii) Burundi Digital Foundations Project (US$80 million); and (iii) Burundi Transport Resilient Project (US$150 million), are being finalized and scheduled to go to the World Bank Board of Directors before the end of the Fiscal Year 2022. In addition, Burundi is eligible for a complementary IDA allocation from the envelope dedicated to countries affected by Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV).

For the Fiscal Year 2021, the level of disbursement has slowed down due to constraints related to the COVID-19 pandemic and disbursement was 17.6% for national projects and 8.6% for regional projects.

The current World Bank portfolio in Burundi comprises twelve national projects and two regional projects for a total grant investment of US$ 1,039.3 billion. The breakdown by sector for the national portfolio is as follows:

• Energy 22.4 %
• Health 22.37 %
• Governance 2.38 %
• Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation 5.74%
• Social Development 6,88 %
• Social Protection and Job Creation 21.80%
• Education 18 %
• Environment and Natural Resources 4.13%

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has conducted a Country Private Sector Diagnostic to identify growth sectors. 

Last Updated: Apr 14, 2022

Human Development:

The Early Grade Learning Project “EGLP” (2018-2023, US$40 million) aims to improve student learning and progression without interruption in early grades in Burundi and, in the event of an eligible crisis or emergency, to provide an immediate and effective response to said eligible crisis or emergency. 

Project results include :

• Supply of school kits to 1,876,440 school children (grades one to four). These children are found in provinces with the lowest education indicators;
• Distribution of 3,481,845 textbooks to grades one and two students of basic school and 57,174 guides for grades one and two teachers;
• Support to school feeding with an average of 85,000 students (127% of the target) per day for the past 3 years in the food insecure provinces of Kirundo and Muyinga;

Sustainable Development

Burundi Landscape Restauration et Resilience Project “BLRRP” (2021-2024, US$30 million and additional funding of US$6 million), aims to restore land productivity in targeted degraded landscapes and, in the event of an eligible crisis or emergency, to provide an immediate and effective response to said eligible crisis or emergency.

Project results include :

• The planting in local communities of 1,134,227 forest and agroforestry seedlings out of the 2,700,532 seedlings already produced;
• Issuance of land certificates to 466 beneficiaries, of which 355 were registered in the name of both spouses and 33 in the name of the wife only. Thus, 388 out of 466 certificates given to beneficiaries (83.26%) bear the name of the wife;
• Employment of 6,910 Batwa people, including 3,062 women, through the High Labor Intensive (HLI) approach. This has had the impact of increasing the income of beneficiaries who have built houses and purchased plots of land for their permanent settlement.
• Construction and rehabilitation of observation sites in 3 protected areas;
• Maintenance of tourist trails and paths (396 km of the 450 km planned) by the Batwa in Kibira and Ruvubu National Parks as well as in Bururi National Forest Reserve;

The Local Development for Jobs Project "LDJP" (2018 to 2022, US$50 million) aims to strengthen the resilience of the population and the private sector through the creation of income-generating opportunities for individuals and businesses and to improve access to basic infrastructure, targeting the most vulnerable populations and MSMEs in the project-targeted value chains.

Project results include :

• Creation of over 2.1 million jobs (man/day) through the HLI approach through investments in specially targeted public infrastructure in vulnerable areas;
• Increased access to basic infrastructure including roads, markets, schools and health facilities for over 942,000 people;
• Technical assistance and business development grant to 84 MSMEs operating in agribusiness and construction value chains.

Last Updated: Apr 14, 2022

The World Bank co-chairs the Policy Advisory Group (PAG), which coordinates the development interventions of technical and financial partners in Burundi.

It also works closely with the various United Nations agencies in project implementation as well as in reporting and capacity building. Similarly, the World Bank cooperates either in co-financing or in partnership with regional banks such as the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

In the area of ​​macro-economic management, the World Bank is a partner of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Last Updated: Apr 14, 2022