Burundi is a partner country of German Development Cooperation. The stabilisation of the peace process was the basis for relaunching development cooperation activities, which had largely been suspended in the wake of the July 1996 military coup.

With an area of 27,834 square kilometres and some 6.6 million inhabitants, Burundi is one of Africa’s smallest countries. Subsistence farming provides a livelihood for around 90 percent of the population. Electricity and food supplies are insufficient, as is medical care. Food scarcity is exacerbated by Burundi’s high population growth of 2.2 percent per annum. With per capita GNP of approximately US$ 155, Burundi is one of the world’s poorest countries. Only one in two children goes to school, and 12 percent of the population are HIV-positive.

The problems the country faces are to a large extent the result of the violent conflicts between various social interest groups that have been flaring up repeatedly since 1993. According to United Nations statistics, in May 2004 140,000 internally displaced persons were living in camps in Burundi, while some 500,000 Burundians were living abroad as refugees.

Since the commencement of the Arusha peace process in 1998, Burundi has been on a difficult, but not hopeless journey towards peace. In August 2000, a Peace and Reconciliation Agreement was signed in the Tanzanian city of Arusha by 19 political parties from both ethnic groups– Hutu and Tutsi.

The GTZ's activities in Burundi focus on the following priority areas:

• Conflict prevention, democracy and civil society (especially demobilisation and reintegration of refugees and ex-combatants)
• Combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic

For some time, GTZ has been active in the field of refugee aid on behalf of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). On behalf of the European Union (EU), it supports the implementation of the ceasefire in Burundi. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) promotes the repatriation of refugees through an emergency aid measure in Makamba province.