Food aid for Congolese refugees in Burundi could stop without $30 million, WFP says
The UN food agency needs about $5 million a month to keep feeding people who fled eastern DR Congo. Refugees at Busuma camp already receive the equivalent of $12 each a month.
Busuma — The World Food Programme (WFP) says it needs more than $30 million to keep feeding Congolese refugees in Burundi until August 2027, Africanews reports.
The agency estimates its costs at about $5 million a month, of which $1 million goes to Busuma camp in the east of the country.
Twelve dollars a month
Refugees currently receive about 38,000 Burundian francs each per month, roughly $12. The WFP warned on 24 July that supplies could run out as early as October. Contributions from donors and from the Burundian government have since extended the assistance, but only by a few months.
Busuma camp was set up in December 2025 and now shelters about 33,000 Congolese refugees. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, says 22,463 refugees have already gone back to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"Deteriorating tents"
Those who remain say the support does not cover their needs. Nayonde Mbirizi, a 40-year-old refugee at the camp, told Africanews that the assistance is not enough, and described strong winds and deteriorating tents as further hardships.
Delegations from the European Union, Switzerland and the EU's humanitarian office, ECHO, have visited Busuma to assess conditions.
The refugees fled fighting in eastern DR Congo, where African Union mediators are trying to hold together a ceasefire between the government and the M23 armed group.
This report is based on reporting by Africanews.
