The total financial contribution from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to the fight against poverty in Burundi will amount to US$ 22 million this year, the UNDP Resident Representative in Burundi, Xavier Michon, indicated here on Wednesday while presenting the organization’s Annual Plan of Action.
According to Michon, the main objectives of the plan are, among others, the fight against poverty and unemployment, economic growth, regional integration, environment, energy, health, education and the reinforcement of the local civil society.
Reacting, Burundi’s second vice-president in charge of economic and social issues, Gervais Rufyikiri, thanked the UN body for its efforts aimed at alleviating poverty in the African country where nearly 70% of the population is poor.
Rufyikiri also hailed the important role the UNDP had played in raising the funds needed for Burundi’s second post-conflict general elections in 2011, the success of the reforms of the defence and security sector after several years of civil war and the fight against corruption
