Poor harvests, severe flooding and the legacy of conflict have created a food crisis in Burundi that adds to the humanitarian burden of a country struggling to recover from 12 years of civil war.

Some 1.6 million Burundians are dependent on food aid, according to the World Food Programme (WFP). Of those, about 1.2 million people - including many recently returned war refugees - were already receiving WFP assistance before November 2006 when heavy floods began devastating crops, worsening the already fragile food situation and making an additional 400,000 people dependent on aid.

The world food body estimated that up to 90 percent of the expected harvest had been destroyed in affected areas across five provinces. It said food was in short supply in local markets and prices had risen significantly, putting basic commodities out of reach of many poor families.

For more information on Burundi's years of ethnic conflict and the humanitarian situation see Alertnet's Burundi transition crisis briefing.

Population	7.8 million ( U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2006)
People receiving WFP food aid	1.6 million (January 2007)
Proportion of malnourished in total population	68 percent (FAO)
Life expectancy at birth	46 years (UNDP)