As my colleague mentioned, we have a very modest development assistance relationship with Burundi. However, our assistance is helping women and girls in the country. We're currently supporting several regional development initiatives that specifically target women and girls, that benefit Burundians. I'll give you a couple of examples.
The first initiative is the project to combat violence against girls and women in the Great Lakes region. It assists victims of violence and promotes change in the way victims are perceived and treated in their communities.
Canadian civil society organizations, such as the Primate's World Relief and Development Fund, Western University, and Aide médicale internationale à l'enfance work to help improve the health and sexual and reproductive rights of women and children.
Initiatives implemented by L'AMIE, also help empower widows in the northern districts of Bujumbura, and in the provinces of Kayanza and Cibitoke, to improve their standard of living through training, the financing of co-operatives, education, and legal support to fight human rights violations.
We also fund the global human rights education project, which is implemented by Equitas. It works to build safer, more equitable communities with greater respect for human rights and democracy, with a particular focus on youth.
Worth mentioning also is additional funding to la Francophonie for the prevention of torture. It focuses on a number of countries in the Great Lakes region, one of which is Burundi.
