Burundi

Background

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A 12-year civil war between Hutus and Tutsis has ended, and successful presidential elections in 2005 hold the promise of a new era of peace for the nation. UN peacekeeping troops remain stationed in Burundi. About half of the population is under age 18.

Issues facing children in Burundi

• Threats to Burundi’s children include rape, child prostitution, child labour,  recruitment into militias, internal displacement, kidnapping and landmines.
• Burundi’s infant and under-five mortality rates remain among the highest in the world, due in large part to malaria, diarrhoea, pneumonia and HIV/AIDS. Burundian women face a lifetime risk of maternal death of 1 in 12.
• Approximately 27,000 children under age 15 have HIV/AIDS. Another 200,000 have been orphaned by the disease.
• The first national nutrition survey conducted in 18 years showed a reduction in malnutrition and an increase in breastfeeding for children under six months, but also revealed high incidences of vitamin A deficiency (28 per cent) in children under age five. Some 60 per cent of primary school–aged children have iodine deficiency.
• Immunization rates for the deadliest childhood diseases have declined in recent years.
• Three quarters of primary schools lack potable water; 38 per cent of schools have insufficient latrines.
• A lingering conflict between the government and Hutu forces in the western provinces continues to threaten civilians. Recruitment of child soldiers is an urgent concern.

Activities and results for children

• Burundi’s new president has announced a policy of free primary education for all children. UNICEF has raised $5 million to support this policy, which immediately doubled first grade enrolment to 500,000 children. UNICEF and its partners provided basic school supplies to 170,000 students who were able to attend school for the first time.
• UNICEF and its partners immunized more than 1.2 million people against meningitis, preventing an epidemic, and dewormed more than 2 million children under 15.  Thousands of insecticide-treated bed nets and hundreds of thousands of quinine tablets were distributed to prevent and treat malaria.
• UNICEF provided clean water to more than 150,000 people and 81 schools, and helped 10,000 households build their own latrines.
• Peace has allowed 60,000 refugees to return to their homes. Meanwhile, the number of internally displaced persons in camps decreased from 145,000 in 2004 to 117,000 in 2005.
• With UNICEF’s help, the National Structure on Child Soldiers demobilized more than 800 children from militias and other armed movements in 2005. More than 3,000 children have been reintegrated into family settings and mainstream society since the inception of the program.
• UNICEF helped reunite more than 5,000 children with their families.