64.6% of Burundians live in poverty, economic expert says

While the world celebrates the Day for Eradication of Poverty on 17 October, studies reveal that economic and political crises, natural disasters, violence, loss of biodiversity…have caused poverty among Burundians.

Gilbert Niyongabo: “Out of three people, two are not able to satisfy their daily food and non-food needs”.

Gilbert Niyongabo, an economic expert says the poverty line in Burundi has moved from 67.1% in 2006 to 64.6% in 2014. He was referring to the surveys conducted by the Burundi Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies-ISTEEBU in 2014. He says the poverty line has decreased by 2.5% between 2006 and 2014 thanks to new policies and reforms established by the government.

He says rural people suffer more than those from urban areas and adds that illiterate ones are the most affected. “Their payments were either inferior or equal to BIF 1744 per day,” he says adding that out of three people, two are not able to satisfy their daily food and non-food needs.

He adds that different crises that erupted in the country have affected the living conditions of the population and caused poverty. “The poverty line was at 35% in 1990. The UN agencies had duties to alleviate it to 17% through sustainable development goals in vain,” he says adding that the poverty has worsened instead of reducing.

For Prof. Niyongabo, Burundians can start conserving their agricultural products for transformation later. “It generates an added value to the elimination of poverty in their communities”, says Niyongabo adding that there is a need to encourage factories that transform agricultural products.

Garry Conille, Resident Coordinator of Operational activities of UN system in Burundi says the world must put in considerable efforts to overcome poverty which undermines people’s lives. He, however, says there is still a long way to go. “Considering the successes obtained since 1990 in combating poverty, more than 800 million people, among whom approximately 70 % are women still live in an extreme poverty,” he says. He also says the new diary of the sustainable development goal has as a plan to eradicate this excessive poverty by 2030.

For this, Burundi government has recently established the National Development Plan to fight against poverty.