Burundi Floods Response
Burundi produces less than 0.02 percent of global greenhouse gas emission, yet it is deeply affected by climate change in recent years because of primarily floods, torrential rains, heavy winds and extended dry seasons. Since September 2023 up to September 2024, Burundi has experienced 257 emergency events resulting in 304,369 affected persons and 49,505 IDPs.
The main types of natural disasters recorded were torrential rains (135 events), strong winds (56 events), floods (30 events), landslides (26 events) and hail (10 events) that have resulted in 13,335 homes flooded, 7,937 homes were partially destroyed, and 4,258 homes were completely destroyed. Overall, 38,56 households were affected by crop field damage (ruined farmlands), 26 bridges, 15 health centers, 234 classrooms, 1,245 school based and public toilets as well as 256 other public infrastructures were destroyed. Overall, 77 communes have been affected nationwide, 27 persons died, 152,659 children and 165,043 women were affected among whom 177 were injured. While 21,420 children and 27,848 women were displaced. Natural disasters remain the primary cause of human internal displacement in Burundi, amounting to 93% of the cases reported. Rumonge is the most affected province by natural disasters, currently reporting 15,377 IDPs, Cibitoke is second with 13,482 IDPs while Bujumbura Rural reports 12,281 IDPs.
Help a Child Burundi with support from the Universitat Foundations and Help a Child International has delivered unconditional multi purpose cash aid, cash for shelter, NFI kits, food aid, capacity strengthening for IDPs in financial literacy, business plan writing, entrepreneurship and climate smart agriculture, micro loans for income generating activities and emergency education support for children with back to school kits to support the relocation of IDPs in permanent shelters.
Support for refugees and asylum seekers
Burundi currently hosts 85,450 refugees and asylum seekers in refugee camps and urban centers. Help a Child with the financial and technical support from WFP provides unconditional multi purpose cash aid and food aid to 18,616 households in the Kavumu refugee camp, 8,612 households in the Musasa refugee camp and 7,194 households in the Kinama refugee camp.
In addition to this, Help a Child provides capacity strengthen for refugee entrepreneurs in these camps with capacity strengthening on human capital development, financial literacy, business plan writing, TVET, climate smart agriculture and business grants.
Returnee Reintegration
Since 2017, 250,200 assisted returnees have been reintegrated in Burundi and now there are over 200,000 Burundian refugees in asylum countries. Help a Child with the financial and technical support from IOM supported the reintegration of 2,599 formerly unemployed returnees and vulnerable members in zones of return through cash for work projects rehabilitating 24 essential community infrastructures strengthening the stability of zones of return and capacity strengthening of 1,700 formerly unemployed returnees and vulnerable members in zones of return on TVET, financial literacy and business plan writing, sales, business management and start up grants.
Contributes to SDG: 1, 2, 6 and 13
