European Orphan Eli volunteers distributed hot meals, clothes, and in-kind and cash aid to families in need in the Cibitoke region of Burundi.

“As the humanitarian aid organization European Orphan Hand, we continue our humanitarian aid activities in Burundi. We provided clothing aid to orphans with the donations sent to us by our donors. Our aid efforts are continuing with the distribution of hot meals, dairy goats, meat from sacrificed animals, food parcels, and cash aid. Madrasa officials we met here said that this is the first time a charity organization has distributed humanitarian aid there,” Nizamettin Aygan, a volunteer for European Orphan Hand, told Ilke News Agency.

Aygan also called on all on benefactors to support their relief efforts in Africa.

A land-locked and densely populated country in East Africa, Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world with more than 70 percent of the population living in poverty, according to World Food Programme.

Food insecurity levels are alarming with 52 percent of children under 5 stunted and even higher levels of malnutrition among rural communities.

Some of the drivers of food insecurity in Burundi include poverty, rapid population growth, vulnerability to climate-related shocks, poor access to clean water, and worsening access to basic services such as health and education.

A high prevalence of infectious diseases, lack of diversity in diets and poor hygiene make the situation worse in the country.

As a result of deepening poverty, Burundi is heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors. Foreign aid represents 42% of Burundi’s national income, the second highest rate in Sub-Saharan Africa. (ILKHA)