Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Integrated Regional Information - April 14, 2000
There were 340,000 people between the ages of 15 and 44 infected with HIV in Burundi, of whom 185,000 were women and 18,500 children, it quoted Dr Evelyne Niniahazwe of the national programme for AIDS control (PNLS) as saying. While a 1989 study showed 15 percent of the sample population in urban areas to be infected, studies in Bujumbura municipality had shown a steady increase through the early 1990s but then a drop in the latter half of the decade to 16 percent in 1999, Niniahazwe said at a conference in Bujumbura.
In contrast, only 1 percent of the rural sample in the 1989 study was infected, but the graph rose steadily through the next decade to 20 percent in 1998. The rapid spread of the disease was apparently linked to promiscuous behaviour in (IDP and regroupment) camps as well as such practices as polygamy and ritual scarification using unsterilised cutting utensils, the report added.
IMF concern at economic decline
The severe impact of the ongoing civil war in terms of the economy, infrastructure and massive displacement of people is a source of serious concern, and the hope is that the Arusha peace talks will offer lasting peace and enhanced economic prospects, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated. In a report posted on its website after the conclusion of recent consultations on the country, the agency noted that Burundi's macroeconomic and financial situation had deteriorated substantially in the past year.
According to IMF, major economic adjustments should be possible after the re-establishment of peace and the resumption of international assistance
Of particular concern, it said, was the contraction of Gross Domestic Product (or the size of the economy), strong inflationary pressures, weakening of tax accounts and a severe shortage of foreign exchange.
The IMF noted that major economic adjustments should be possible after the re-establishment of peace and the resumption of international assistance.
The notice recommended that the Burundi authorities should curtail the wage bill, control expenditure and improve budget management with a view to switching expenditure from the military to the social sector.
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