ObjectivesFund scope
Like other developing economies in sub-Saharan Africa, Burundi finds itself at the crossroads because of compounded structural development and economic challenges that have only been further exacerbated by exogenous shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside health-related issues, climate hazards also affect Burundians by way of resource degradation and recurring flooding from Lake Tanganyika. Both have had direct consequences on local populations, communities already under pressure because of refugee and IDP flows and pre-existing vulnerabilities.
The Burundi SDG MPTF addresses these issues. The joint operational mechanism makes it possible for stakeholders to draw from a pool of mobilized resources to design, implement, monitor, and evaluate joint initiatives that are in line with national strategic frameworks and were developed with a view to address myriad structural and economic constraints that threaten the SDG achievement and the attainment of globally linked, national priorities.
Relying on the comparative advantages of United Nations and Fund partners, stakeholders will work towards operationalizing three central frameworks/processes:
- United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF 2019-2023) and the associated joint work plan for 2021-2022—both of which feature priorities aligned with the UNS Strategic Positioning Document in Burundi.
- Strengthening community resilience to prevent crises in Burundi, as developed by the Policy Advisory Group to address hazards in sequential short program cycles. This will include reducing underlying chronic vulnerabilities and putting in place effective prevention mechanisms to reduce the socio-economic drag on humanitarian financing and services.
- The Multi-sector Joint Plan for the socio-economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was developed by the Policy Advisory Group to mitigate impacts generated by the pandemic on social sectors and on the Burundian economy
Additionally, Fund partners will continue to advance initiatives at the political and strategic levels by broadening networks and information sharing between technical and financial stakeholders and local authorities. Doing so enables all those involved to better understand Fund expectations and schematics, which is necessary for the integrated and inclusive implementation of community-based, regional, and national policies. Rolled into Fund design is partnership and communication support to increase the sharing of information and ideas across stakeholders involved in Burundian development initiatives.
Theory of change
Along with making improvements to the roll-out and scaling up of innovative and comprehensive programmes, Fund stakeholders work on strengthening planning and coordination processes and consistently channeling financing to the highest priority. To facilitate Burundi UNDAF implementation and supporting SDG achievement. Specifically, action under this MPTF will help:
- Strengthen the coherence and implementation of joint strategies and programs by filling critical gaps and in particular, supporting under-funded priorities.
- Improve funding coordination for Burundi development partners, including technical and financial.
- Mobilize resources for the acceleration and operationalization of humanitarian, development and peace nexus in a manner that is consistent and relevant to regional and national programmatic issues.
- Establish a mechanism for consulting and prioritizing on key issues between the Government of Burundi, United Nations Development System, and technical and financial partners.
- Reduce risks for Fund contributors through the establishment of a comprehensive risk and results management system.
- Provide a transparent allocation mechanism from innovative funding sources.
If Fund stakeholders address humanitarian-development concerns according to the above actions, then a series of results should emerge. The first is a better rate of joint plan and programme implementation, and initiatives that address to the context of Burundi and the environmental, socio-economic and humanitarian challenges facing those living in country. Better coordination between all partners should emerge, inclusive of those in the technical and financial spheres, as well as partnership effectiveness. As well, if these steps are taken then implementation of the UNDAF will speed up and lead to the emergence of more measurable results by the end of 2023.