Attachments
Highlights
- El Niño has wreaked havoc across Burundi, with 47 reported dead, over 248,869 affected and over 49,365 displaced since September 2023.
- UNICEF supported the screening for malnutrition of 55,776 children and provided nutritional assistance to 184 children 6 – 59 months severely malnourished.
- UNICEF continued to support access to drinking water in cholera-affected areas, benefitting to 6,255 households in Rubirizi and Tenga. In addition, in Bugarama, 1,508 people, including 868 children received hygiene items to collect and securely store drinking water and adhere to hygiene practices.
- UNICEF scaled up child protection interventions, providing psychosocial support to 4,711 children, ensuring alternative care and family reunification to 58 separated and unaccompanied children and supporting 1,463 children for birth registration and accessing their birth certificate.
- UNICEF currently has a funding gap of 73 per cent, and urgently requires additional funding to meet the needs of those most vulnerable.
Funding Overview and Partnerships
Funding Overview and Partnerships UNICEF’s Internal Response Plan for El Niño stands at US$ 8 million1 to provide life-saving services for women and children affected by the impact of El Niño. As of July 2024, UNICEF has received US$ 2,088,293 against the response plan. UNICEF sincerely thanks all donors for contributions received, including the Government of Japan, USAID/BHA and CERF/OCHA. Nevertheless, humanitarian needs remain a concern in Burundi and the response to natural disasters remains largely underfunded.
UNICEF was able to prepare and invest for the seasonal impact of the rainy season due to investing internal resources in preparedness efforts, including supplies and procurement, as early as October 2023. These funds have enabled UNICEF to initiate an immediate rapid response to those made most vulnerable by the effects of El Niño which have been especially notable since the start of the year.
UNICEF has also received funds generously contributed by the Government of Japan to respond to the ongoing cholera outbreak which has been gravely exacerbated due to the impact of El Niño. These funds have greatly contributed to the prevention of a more serious escalation in cholera and communicable diseases during this heavy rainy season and flood period.
UNICEF continues to appeal to partners for funding to be able to respond to the impact of the El Niño driven floods and landslides which have had a devasting impact on children and their families. Considering the limited capacity of humanitarian actors to respond, coupled with increasing inflation and the ongoing economic crisis, small shocks have devastating effects on children and their families. Timely and flexible funding is urgently needed to respond, particularly in the domains of WASH, Health, Nutrition, Social Protection and Child Protection.
With the declaration of the Mpox epidemic in country on July 25, 2024, UNICEF is re-purposing own internal funds to be able to initiate an initial response to the Mpox outbreak.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Burundi bears the brunt of climate-change related natural disasters and is amongst the least prepared countries to respond to climate change induced shocks. Since the rainy season which commenced in September 2023 and typically lasts until the end of May, El Niño has exacerbated the consequences of human induced climate change across Burundi.
The provinces which run the length of the Lake Tanganyika have been hardest hit by floods and landslides. Provinces which are considered to be cyclically impacted by climate change in Burundi, have not gone unscathed this past rainy season. Cibitoke and Bubanza, both provinces to the Northwest of the country, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, both experienced devasting heavy rainfalls which ruined crops, damaged homes, schools and infrastructures.
Kirundo a province to the very north of Burundi which borders Rwanda and has historically experienced a mix of floods and drought, experienced heavy levels of floods this rainy season.
El Niño has resulted in 47 recorded deaths, of which some are a consequence of exposure to wildlife in flood prone zones. Over 78 people have been reported as injured 3 and over 22,660 houses and over 740 classrooms have been destroyed, this is in addition to damage caused to roads, hydraulic and sanitation infrastructure. The impact of El Niño exacerbated floods and heavy rains has been most significantly felt since the start of 2024, with more than 248,869 people affected and more than 49,365 forced to flee as a result of flooding and landslides5 . Over 458 water points have been recorded as damaged, increasing the risk of communicable diseases in these communities.
By mid-May, the heaviest of the rains stopped rather unexpectedly prompting the start of the dry season which typically runs from July-August before the resumption of the rainy season in September.
The 2024 National Nutrition Survey, using the SMART methodology, which was technically validated in June is at its final endorsement stage at the government level. The survey has highlighted that malnutrition continues to be a significant public health issue in Burundi. More than one in two children under 5 years old suffers from stunting (53%) while 8% are wasted and 59% are anaemic with disparities across provinces. Provinces impacted by El Niño exhibit the highest prevalence of wasting. Malnutrition has serious consequences, contributing to increased morbidity and mortality among children under five.
Additionally, child malnutrition affects a child's psychomotor development, learning abilities, and long-term productivity. The same survey found that dietary practices are generally inadequate. Only one in three children (29%) of children aged 6-23 months has access to a minimum dietary diversity, and one in five children in the same age group receive a minimum acceptable diet. While these rates are still low, there has been a slight improvement from the 2022 SMART survey, which reported dietary diversity and minimum acceptable diet rates of 2% and 13%, respectively. Follow up for the endorsement of those results by the Government is ongoing and appropriate plans to address it to be developed and domestic and external resources to be mobilized.