The program set up by the European Union aims to provide a sustainable multi-sectoral regional response for Burundian refugees and returnees in the Great Lakes region and Burundi through:

• Strengthening the resilience, the empowerment and self-sufficiency of Burundian refugees (women and men in all their diversity) in the Great Lakes region and returnees (men and women in all their diversity) in Burundi.
• Supporting the resilience of returnees to Burundi and returning communities in order to promote sustainable reintegration, social cohesion and peaceful coexistence.
• Improving the scope of durable solutions for refugees and returnees by promoting both national and regional exchanges and learning.

The projects are implemented around 3 components:

1. Burundi national component “Integrated response to promote the protection and resilience of returnees in Burundi” which aims to promote the sustainable reintegration of Burundian returnees in their areas of return (2023-2027, funded by EU for an amount of 15.5 million euros and by IRC for an amount of 1.78 million euros).
2. Cross-border component “Integrated cross-border response to help strengthen the protection and resilience of displaced people in Tanzania and Burundi” which contributes to provide solutions to the main obstacles that Burundian refugees may encounter at their return. This will be done by supporting cross-border protection and access services to civil documentation, while strengthening the skills and capacities of refugees to ensure their empowerment upon their return to Burundi. The UNHCR and a consortium of international and Burundian NGOs implement two projects. The total budget is approximately 8.1 million euros (including 3.7 million euros for the UNHCR component and 4.4 million euros for the NGO consortium component). The projects are implemented over a period of 48 months, between 2023 and 2027.
3. Regional component which includes two components implemented by Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS) and the UNHCR regional office for East Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes. “Promoting comprehensive durable solutions for refugees in the Great Lakes region through increased dialogue and peer learning” is the project implemented by ReDSS with an EU contribution of 2 million euros. The second component is implemented by UNHCR “Strengthening coordination, planning and dialogue for durable solutions in the Great Lakes region”. This project aims to strengthen coordination and integrated programming for reintegration in Burundi, as well as to support initiatives in the Great Lakes region aimed at strengthening regional coordination, thematic discussions and information sharing on durable solutions for the situation of Burundian refugees. This second component also receives a contribution from the EU of 2 million euros.