Attachments
Overview
It has been more than one month since pre-election violence started in Burundi, resulting in a number of casualties in the capital of Bujumbura, and more than 96,000 people fleeing to safety in neighbouring countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
The majority are choosing to settle in Tanzania where the situation is dire and existing infrastructure is unable to accommodate the refugees’ needs. IFRC launched an emergency appeal to support 20,000 Burundian refugees in Tanzania and a FACT was deployed; a DREF was also launched to support the Rwandan Red Cross in responding to the influx of families there. ICRC provided direct on-the-ground support to the Tanzania Red Cross Society from the onset of the crisis in restoring family links activities, first aid, as well as emergency water and sanitation supplies.
Key priorities for regional Red Cross Red Crescent response
-
Emergency water and sanitation and hygiene promotion: safe drinking water management, hand washing and good hygiene and sanitation practices using mobile cinema to prevent the spread of diarrhoea and cholera outbreaks
-
Emergency health: medical screening for new arrivals (immunization, treatment of common communicable diseases, and screening for malnutrition); health education on prevention of communicable diseases and conducting active case finding
-
First aid: first aid treatment at registration points and in camps, evacuation and referrals, prepositioning first aid kits in the most at-risk locations in Burundi
-
Shelter and non-food items: to cover for immediate needs
-
Psychosocial support: provided to Burundi refugees at different entry points and camps in Rwanda
-
Restoring family links: registration of separated family members, with a special focus on children, and providing restoring family links services, such as phone calls.
-
Visiting persons arrested in relation to the violence: to monitor their living conditions and their treatment.