Since April 2015 Burundi is facing a sociopolitical crisis that has intensified violence and made access to the primary needs of the population more difficult.
According to the UNHCR, from the beginning of the crisis, in August 2016, about 275,000 Burundians, (more than half children), abandoned their homes and fled to neighboring countries. It is also estimated that 100,000 people are displaced within the country and 70% of them live in host families in the provinces of Bujumbura Mairie, Rutana Makambe, Gitega, Bujumbura and Ruyigi. Political instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo has also caused massive displacement to neighboring countries. The inflow of Congolese people, Burundi displaced and repatriated occurred in provinces where health and nutrition services fail to respond to minimum needs: healthcare assistants, as well as drugs and equipment stocks are inadequate. In this situation, a recurrence of transmissible diseases has been observed, including measles, diarrhea, malaria, respiratory infections and malnutrition. In addition, refugees are in areas where the HIV program is not functional in all its aspects. Conflicts affect negatively the spread of the disease, especially because of the rapes in the war zones, where the risk and the vulnerability to HIV increase much more for women and young people. This action is part of this complex scenario with the aim of providing an effective response to health and nutritional needs, trying to prevent malnutrition and to manage that acute, to ensure that refugees and returnees can have access to care both preventive and curative, and have access to reproductive health care services.