Highlights
- A total of 31,131 children (17,061 boys; 14,070 girls) accessed critical protection services, including temporary emergency shelter, psychosocial support, release from detention, family tracing and reunification, medical support, as well as access to education and reintegration opportunities.
- Since the beginning of the year, 45,548 children with severe acute malnutrition have been admitted and treated in 418 health facilities supported by UNICEF.
- UNICEF Burundi is facing a serious funding shortfall, with only 29 per cent of 2018 Humanitarian Action for Children funding available.
Without additional funding, UNICEF will not be able to continue addressing the essential needs of children and women in Burundi.
Situation in numbers
- Number of children in need (HNO 2018)
- 3.6 million Number of people in need (HNO 2018)
- 367,552 Population seeking asylum in neighbouring countries (UNHCR, 31 October 2018)
- 52,260 People repatriated from Tanzania (UNHCR, 31 October 2018)
- 147,086 Internally displaced people in 18 provinces (IOM, October 2018)
Situation Overview and Humanitarian Needs
The socio-political situation in Burundi remains precarious and continues to fuel the movement of populations, while increasing humanitarian needs. A total of 367,552 refugees, half of whom are children, have found refuge in neighbouring countries, mainly in Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda (UNHCR 31 October 2018). The decrease of approximately 15,500 in the overall number of refugees since the last report, is linked to the ongoing voluntary repatriation process, led by UNHCR within the tripartite agreement with the Governments of Burundi and Tanzania. To date, 52,260 people (57 per cent children), have returned to Burundi.
The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) registered in 18 provinces continues to decrease (12,066 people since the last report) and now stands at 147,086 people, 60 per cent of whom are children (IOM, October 2018). This can be partly explained by reduced flooding episodes and increase in resettlements during this reporting period.
In response to increased risks of cross-border transmission from the ongoing Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in neighbouring DRC, Burundi, with key health partners including UNICEF, developed an Ebola Contingency Plan for six months focusing on three scenarios respectively costing US$ 1, 3 and 7,5 million to provide additional support for preparedness and response to a possible outbreak. Implementation of the plan is ongoing with focus on communication, health, protection, education and WASH interventions.
UNICEF continues to provide technical support as a member of the National Ebola Task Force, led by the Ministry of Health (MoH) with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and as co-lead of the sub-committee for Communication and Community Engagement (CCE), which meets weekly to discuss and coordinate interventions.
As visually depicted in the graph below, malaria cases and deaths continue to decrease since the beginning of the year. According to epidemiological data from MoH, the cumulative number of malaria cases reported during the first 41 weeks of 2018 (3,390,097 cases with 1,617 deaths), is 46 per cent lower than the number of cases reported for the same period in 2017 (6,341,005 cases and 2,800 deaths). Despite this encouraging trend, the fight against malaria remains a priority. UNICEF continues to support MoH in closely monitoring the situation of malaria and other diseases.