Drinking water and sanitation

Access to drinking water and sanitation has direct health impacts. Well-functioning systems reduce water-induced diseases and in turn improve the population's performance capacity and employability. At the same time they promote an intact environment. Sustainable development and water resources management are basic prerequisites for agriculture and industry. Due to its huge significance, water is a relevant factor in poverty alleviation. In its poverty alleviation strategy (Cadre Stratégique de Lutte contre la Pauvreté – CSLP), the Government of Burundi also gives the drinking water supply a high priority for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

German development cooperation (DC) has in-depth, internationally recognised experience in the water sector, and, apart from brief disruptions due to the civil war, has operated in Burundi's water sector since the 1980s. During negotiations with the Government of Burundi in 2005, Germany agreed to name water as a priority area, concentrating its funding nearly exclusively in this area.

The German commitment is implemented in close cooperation with other donors, with whom the work is shared, and is supplemented by other German DC programmes and projects. The activities are carried out at political, regional and local levels (multilevel approach).

Financial cooperation (FC) and technical cooperation (TC) will strengthen political, institutional and operational structures in the water sector and rebuild or rehabilitate the infrastructure, aiming to provide the population with regular access to the water supply facilities efficiently and effectively. In addition to the provision of sanitation, the measures include the construction of latrines, as well as hygiene education, which leads to improved sanitation, hygienic use of water and enhanced health.